Marauder Love Story
by Sophia Lilia
Summary: Clara Stone has been friends with the Marauders since her first year at Hogwarts. She knows that James Potter has been obsessed with Lily Evans for just as long. But all of a sudden he's not paying attention to her redheaded friend, but to Clara instead. Disclaimer: I only own Clara Stone.
1. Back to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine, but Clara is.**

 **This story is on my Quotev account as well:** _ **502163414/published**_

 **Enjoy!**

Clara Stone: Chloe Grace Moretz.

James Potter: Aaron Johnson.

Sirius Black: Ben Barnes.

Remus Lupin: Andrew Garfield.

Peter Pettigrew: Charles Hughes.

Lily Evans: Karen Gillan.

Marlene McKinnon: Ashley Benson.

Alice Fortescue: Carey Mulligan.

Dorcas Meadows: Candice King.

Frank Longbottom: Logan Lerman.

Mary MacDonald: Lucy Hale.

Zemi: _Good luck amulet or charm_.

Sixteen year old Clara Stone huffed as she attempted to shove her trunk into the rack above the compartment seats. Unfortunately for Clara, her 5"4 height would not allow her to get very far.

"You do realise you have a wand, right?"

Clara jumped, nearly dropping her trunk before a strong set of hands caught it for her. James Potter easily lifted the stupid trunk into the rack and flopped onto the seat underneath it. "So, why didn't you just levitate it?"

Clara blushed as she sat opposite James, her grey Norwegian Forest Cat curling up in her lap. "I'm tired, I kinda forgot."

"You forgot?" James laughed, swinging his feet up to rest on the seat beside Clara. "You must be knackered then."

Clara nodded as she stroked Zemi's fur, "Drew's been a maniac this summer. He would have had me running drills all night if mum hadn't forced him to pack his broom so he wouldn't forget it this morning." Clara's brother Andrew was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, he had been for two years now. It was Drew's last year at Hogwarts now and he was determined to win the Cup for a third time before he left.

"Merlin, even I won't be that bad next year!" James grinned.

"So sure you'll get captain when Drew leaves?" Clara teased.

"Of course he is!" came a voice from the corridor, before the owner appeared dragging his own trunk. "It's all Prongs talks about, how he'll be a better captain than Stone! Well, that and how he's going to marry Evans." Sirius Black was James' best friend, and with shaggy black hair and silvery-grey eyes, he knew he was gorgeous. Sirius was a ladies-man (though Clara thought he was just a man-whore really) and a great friend when you got to know him. He heaved his trunk up so it sat next to Clara's and then unknowingly copied James, flopping onto the seat next to him.

"Lily is never going to agree to that," Clara said.

"See, we know that but try telling him!" Remus Lupin looked as tired as Clara felt as he ambled into the compartment, Peter Pettigrew following behind him. Clara shuffled over, closer to the window and shoved James' feet off the seat to make room for the two additions. Remus sat next to Clara and gave her grin. "Hullo, Clara! How was your summer?"

Clara smiled back, turning so she was leaning against the window and she could see all four boys without craning her neck. "My summer was fine, Remus, apart from Drill Sergeant Drew." As Remus, Sirius and James all laughed, Peter looked confused, "What's a drill sergeant?"

"It's a muggle army term, Peter, don't worry about it," Clara said. "I just meant that Drew's been crazy about quidditch practice."

"Oh." Peter frowned. "What's that got to do with a muggle army?"

Sirius snorted. "Never mind, Pete."

"Anyway," James began, changing the topic. "Who's to say Evans won't agree to marry me one day?"

"I do, Potter!" Lily Evans herself appeared in the doorway, looking offended at the thought of marrying James Potter.

"That's the spirit, Evans!" James grinned, sitting up straighter now that his lady love had made an appearance. "Now we just need to say it in front of a Ministry official!"

"In your dreams, Potter!" Lily spat, before turning to Remus with a small smile. "Remus, we have to go to the prefect's compartment for the meeting and then I think we've got the first patrol." Remus sighed and heaved himself up. "See you later, guys."

"Clara," Lily added. "The girls and I have a compartment on the other end of the carriage if you want to escape these buffoons."

"Thanks, Lil. I might pop over in a bit." Lily nodded and left with Remus, James staring love-struck after her.

"She wants me," James sighed dreamily and Sirius snorted again. "She does not, mate!"

"Leave him alone, Pads, he'll get over it eventually." Clara sighed, moving so that she was lying across the seat, her head propped up on her jacket and her feet tucked up near Peter. "I might have a nap, I'm exhausted. Wake me up when Remus gets back." The boys nodded and Clara drifted off to the sounds of their hushed voices.

"Clara… Clara… Clara!" She jerked awake, blinking until Remus' face came into focus. "Hey sleepyhead, we're nearly at Hogsmeade Station."

Clara groaned slightly as she sat up. "Hmm… okay I'll get changed then." Slowly, she stood up and stretched. Clara turned to grab her small bag that held her school uniform only to discover that Sirius had already pulled it down from the rack and was holding out to her. "Thanks." She took the bag and headed out into the corridor to the girls loo and quickly changed into her uniform, finishing knotting her Gryffindor tie as she got back to the compartment. The boys had pulled all the trunks down and Clara shoved her bag of muggle clothes into her trunk and heaved Zemi into her carry case, much to the cat's dismay. Clara followed the boys out to the carriages, all of them quickly piling into one just before it pulled away from the station. The journey to the castle went by quickly and Clara was grateful that it wasn't raining for once. The group left their trunks in the Entrance Hall, amidst the ever growing pile of luggage and Clara let Zemi out of her cage, knowing she would find her way to Gryffindor Tower, as James did the same for Algernon, his grumpy tabby cat. Soon enough, they were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the warmth of the Great Hall. Clara jumped when a body plopped heavily onto the bench beside her.

"Wotcher, Clara!" Alice Fortescue was a very happy-go-lucky person, very well suited for her boyfriend Frank Longbottom who sat himself on the other side of Alice. Clara thought they were adorable together. "Hey, Alice! Hiya, Frank!" Frank gave a cheery wave as the rest of the Gryffindor sixth years joined the group; Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon and Mary MacDonald. Clara waved as she saw Dorcas Meadows headed for the Ravenclaw table with her cousin Pandora, who was staring at Xenophilius Lovegood. As everyone settled down at the House tables, the main doors to the Great Hall were flung open (rather dramatically in Clara's opinion) as Professor McGonagall led the first years in for the Sorting. As the first years huddled together in the wide aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, the raggedy old hat that was sitting on a three-legged stool in front of the staff table opened its mouth:

 _"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve and chivalry,  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin,  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means,  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The Hall burst into applause for the Sorting Hat's song. Once the noise died down, McGonagall cleared her throat and started calling names. By the time she got to Alyssa Zabini ("SLYTHERIN!") Clara was starving and, from the complaining coming from the boys, so was everyone else. When Dumbledore finally finished his welcome back speech with the words "Tuck in!", James, Sirius and Peter all practically dived for the food the appeared on the table. Remus chuckled at his friends and dug in to his chicken in a more polite manner as the girls watched the other three Marauders in disgust.

"Ew, Potter that is disgusting!" Lily cringed away, turning so that she didn't have to watch him stuffing his face. Clara giggled as James just shrugged and said, "You know you love me, Evans." The bespectacled boy grinned through his steak and carried on eating. Clara piled some chicken on to her plate, along with some mash, peas, carrots, Yorkshire pudding (one of her favourites) and gravy before tucking in cheerily. Once the puddings had been cleared from the table and everyone was full to bursting, the prefects started to lead the first years to their respective common rooms.

"Come on, Remus," Lily heaved herself to her feet. "We should get the first years up to the Tower."

"Right," Remus sighed. He climbed over the bench and called, "FIRST YEARS, THIS WAY!" As the new Gryffindors grouped in front of Remus and Lily, who were the Gryffindor prefects for sixth year, James and Sirius started laughing.

"Look how tiny they are!" Sirius guffawed.

James snorted, "We were never that small!"

Clara grinned, slinging her arm round James neck as she hauled herself up. "Oh contraire, Potter! As I remember it, you were the shortest one of us in first year, besides Peter." James huffed, shoving Clara's arm away as he stood.

"I was not!"

"Yes you were, Prongs!" Sirius recalled. "And look, I'm still taller than you!" James shoved his best friend and starting running for the door, Sirius chasing after him. Clara laughed as she watched, then jumped as an arm linked with hers.

"Hey, Marlene." She smiled at the other blonde girl who returned it, happy but tired.

"Hey, you ready to head up?"

"Definitely!" The girls slowly made their way to Gryffindor Tower, the rest of their friends trailing after them. When they got there, they saw James and Sirius arguing with the Fat Lady portrait.

"How are we supposed to know the password, Lady?" Sirius snapped. "It's the first day back!"

"I cannot let you in without the password, young man!" the Lady shouted back shrilly.

"Fairy lights!" The group turned to see Mary MacDonald coming up behind them.

"Thank you!" The portrait finally swung open and they all piled into the common room, Clara smiling softly at the familiar relaxed atmosphere.

"How'd you know that?" James demanded. Mary smirked, "Lily told me on the train, after the prefect meeting."

"What?" Sirius huffed. "Why didn't Moony tell us?"

"Probably because you didn't think to ask him," Alice said as joined them, Frank's arm around her shoulders.

"Right, you lot," Clara sighed. "I'm off to bed, first day of classes tomorrow." The boys chorused their goodnights, James and Sirius flopping onto the armchairs in front of the fire. Alice and Frank claimed the loveseat after Alice had hugged Clara.

"I'll come up with you," Marlene said.

"Me too." Mary followed the two blonde girls up the stairs to the girls' dorm. Clara hummed happily as she saw her trunk at the end of her bed, Zemi curled up on her pillow. She changed into her pyjamas, a pair of black and white plaid pyjama pants and a Gryffindor tank top, folding her uniform into a neat pile and leaving it on top of her trunk. Waiting for Marlene to get her arse out of the bathroom, Clara grabbed her hairbrush and pulled her hair into a messy bun. Marlene finally came out and Clara hurried into the bathroom so that Mary didn't have to wait too long. She quickly went to the loo, washed her hands and then wiped her makeup off and brushed her teeth. Hurrying back out, she kissed Mary's cheek as she passed and quickly hopped into her warm bed, snuggling under the covers. Marlene was already asleep and it didn't take long for Clara's eyes to drift closed. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the sound of Lily coming into the dorm and Zemi gently nudging her cheek, the little pillow hog.


	2. First Day

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine, but Clara is.**

 **This story is on my Quotev account as well:** _ **502163414/published**_

 **Enjoy!**

Clara woke to the sound of Celestina Warbeck's _Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love_. Mary's wizarding wireless was set for 6.30am and breakfast started at 7am so Clara knew she had to get her arse into the shower before the others woke up – Mary's radio alarm was charmed to get louder until it was turned off. Clara grabbed her uniform and headed for the bathroom. After a quick shower, she changed into her clothes and brushed her teeth. A trail of steam followed her as she headed back into the dorm room, Lily rushing passed to get in the shower next. Clara sat at the vanity she shared with Marlene, pulling the front of her hair back into two small braids that connected at the back and left the rest of her hair down. She quickly did her makeup, applying winged black eyeliner, mascara and dark pink lipstick and chose to wear simple diamond studs in her ears. Casting a setting charm on her face so that nothing smudged (Witch Weekly came in handy sometimes), she put on her robes and slipped on her low-heeled shoes, grabbing her bag. Switching off Mary's alarm, Clara pulled the covers off of her friend. Mary was not a morning person. The girl whined and made grabby hands for her quilt and Clara laughed. "Get up, Mary!" Mary whined again, and rolled over, falling off the bed with a hard _thump_! Clara laughed again and threw Mary's pillow at Marlene. It hit her right in the face and Marlene growled and threw it back. "I'm up!"

Lily came out of the bathroom, her hair and makeup already done but she'd forgotten to take her uniform in with her so she was only wearing a red towel. Snatching her clothes up, the redhead rushed back into the bathroom, slamming the door which only caused Mary to whine again. Marlene finally got her arse out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom door with her clothes just as Lily came out again. Clara headed for the door, Lily hurrying behind her, "See you guys at breakfast." Clara popped her head back round the door, "Someone wake Alice up, yeah?"

The two girls made their way through the common room and out the portrait, chatting about their summers as they hadn't had a chance to catch up on the train due to Clara's longer-than-expected nap. Clara spotted Remus already sitting at the Gryffindor table when they got to the Great Hall. She sat next to him and said, "Morning!"

"Morning, Clara," Remus said cheerily. "Morning, Lily. How are you girls this morning?"

"We're fine." Lily sat opposite Clara and Remus and piled some toast and scrambled eggs onto her plate. "You okay, Remus?" He nodded, swallowing some bacon.

"Where's the other boys?" Clara asked. She put some sausage, toast and scrambled eggs onto her plate, with some ketchup and smiled as Remus poured her goblet of apple juice. She never had liked pumpkin. "Thanks."

"No problem. The others are still getting ready, though I think Peter might actually still be asleep." Remus grinned.

"Well, here's the rest of our lot," Lily laughed as Mary, Alice and Marlene ambled their way to the table.

Marlene huffed as she sat down next to Lily. "Coffee!" she whined. Clara laughed and pushed the pot towards her blonde friend. Mary didn't even look at the food, just rested her head on her arms on the table and stayed quiet. Clara suspected she might have fallen asleep.

"Morning!" Alice, on the other hand, was much perkier in the mornings than her friends. She compiled a breakfast similar to Clara's and started eating as Frank appeared to sit on her other side. He greeted the group quietly before helping himself to his own breakfast. Clara could see James and Sirius finally coming for breakfast and she laughed when James plopped himself down next to her so that she was now squashed between him and Remus. James grinned at her then looked at Lily, "Morning Evans!"

Lily scowled at him. "Potter."

"Ah, come on, Evans, lighten up!" Sirius smirked over his coffee cup. "He's only saying good morning." Lily huffed and ignored them, finishing her toast.

"Morning, guys," Clara smiled at James and Sirius and they both grinned back as Professor McGonagall came over to hand out their timetables.

"Thanks, Minnie!" Sirius said.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that, Black?" the stern looking woman frowned over her spectacles at him.

"I've lost count!" Sirius' eyes twinkled.

"No cheek, Black, it's not too early to start taking points." McGonagall stated, unimpressed. "Where's Mr Pettigrew this morning?"

"Still asleep, I think, Professor," Remus replied, taking his timetable. "I can give him his timetable if you want?"

"Thank you, Mr Lupin." She handed it over, along with everyone else's, and headed off to a group of second years who had just sat down. Clara finished her breakfast and looked over her timetable, frowning when she noticed she had Potions first. Judging from the groans, so did the boys. Marlene, Lily and Alice also had potions but Frank and Mary both had Arithmancy.

"Come on, then," Clara huffed as she got up. "Let's get this over with."

The potions classroom smelled as funky as it usually did. It was darker than other classrooms, due to the lack of windows, and green algae clustered in the corner of the ceiling closest to Slughorn's desk. Shelves lined the wall behind his desk, filled with jars of rare and likely expensive potions ingredients and photographs of past students who had been favoured by the professor. Slughorn himself hadn't arrived yet, so the group sat themselves down near the back. Clara set up her cauldron, which she kept in her bag (undetectable extension charms were nifty), and plonked her copy of _Advanced Potion Making_ on the desk. Marlene sat next to her, Lily partnering with Alice on the desk next to them. James and Sirius sat together behind them and Remus sat behind Clara. Frank had agreed to tell Peter what his first class was, since he had left his bag in his dorm.

As the room filled up, the students grouping together by House out of habit, Slughorn waddled his way through the door. "Good morning, sixth years! Welcome to NEWT Level Potions. This will be a lot harder than your OWLs, although we will be studying some lovely potions this year." Slughorn gestured to the cauldrons he had set up on the front desk. "Can anyone tell me what this first potion is?" Lily's hand shot up. "Yes, Miss Evans?"

"It's Polyjuice Potion, sir."

"Ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Evans, well done!" Slughorn exclaimed. "What about this one?" The second potion had a light pink, pearlescent sheen to it, a light purple smoke rising from the surface. "Ah, Miss Stone?"

"It's Amortentia. The most powerful love potion in the world," Clara said.

There was a bang as the classroom door slammed open, a huffing Peter Pettigrew in the doorway. Red-faced, he quickly made his way over to his seat beside Remus. "Sorry, I'm late, Professor."

"Not to worry, Pettigrew, not to worry. Don't let it happen again." Peter nodded and Slughorn carried on with his lesson. "Yes, Miss Stone, you are correct, it is Amortentia. Ten points to Gryffindor." Clara smiled. "But, you should all note, Amortentia does not create actual love, which is rather impossible, but instead it creates a powerful infatuation." All the girls seemed to sit a bit straighter in their seats, one Hufflepuff girl even letting out a wistful sigh as she turned her gaze from the Amortentia to Sirius. He winked at her and she flushed a bright red, turning back to face Slughorn. "Now, Amortentia smells differently to everyone, according to what attracts them, so… ah Miss Stone, since you were the one who correctly identified it, why don't you come up here and tell us what you smell?"

Clara blushed, shyly getting up from her seat. The Hufflepuff girl who had stared at Sirius, glared at Clara as she passed. Clara leaned over, just enough to catch a whiff of the potion. "Um, I smell… chocolate… fresh apples… and some kind of cologne?" she guessed. It smelled familiar but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

"Wonderful, wonderful," said Slughorn. Clara hurried back to her seat, her cheeks pink. She caught Lily's eye and the redhead grinned at her, flicking her eyes to Remus, and mouthed " _Apples_?"

Clara frowned, confused, " _What_?"

Lily shook her head, " _Never mind_."

Clara turned back to Slughorn as Pandora Meadows explained what the third, shimmery gold potion was, "Felix Felicis, sir, it's Liquid Luck!" Again, the class seemed to get excited at the prospect of possibly brewing this potion.

"Yes, ten points to Ravenclaw. Now I have taken this potion only twice in my life, just a teaspoon at breakfast is enough to last twenty-four hours." Slughorn continued. "Best two days of my life, one of them just a couple of years ago…" He trailed off, seeming to daydream about his lucky days. "Anyway, today we shall be brewing the Draught of Living Death. The student who brews the best potion will receive a phial of Felix Felicis as a prize!"

The students got excited again and there was a sudden flurry as everyone found the potion in their textbooks and students headed for the supply cupboard for ingredients that they didn't have.

' _The Draught of Living Death brings upon its drinker a very powerful sleep that can last indefinitely. This draught is very dangerous if not used with caution ... This is an extremely dangerous potion. Execute with maximum caution.'_ Clara read. ' _Add the Infusion of Wormwood; Add the powdered root of asphodel; Stir twice clockwise; Add the sloth brain; Add the Sopophorous bean's juice; Stir seven times anti-clockwise.'_ Clara followed the recipe, but once she got to the Sopophorous beans, she happened to glance up and she noticed the Severus Snape had 13 beans, not 12. She watched discretely as he used to flat side of his knife to crush the beans. She frowned, that wasn't what the book said. Then again, Snape was a potions genius. Clara glanced at Lily to see her doing the same thing, crushing 13 beans instead of slicing 12. Clara thought for a moment before taking an extra bean from the jar on the desk and using the flat side of her blade to crush them. She added the juice and stirred seven times anti-clockwise. The potion didn't look quite right though. Clara thought again and decided that maybe since she had added an extra bean… she gave an extra stir, clockwise this time, and watched as the potion shimmered for moment before turning the perfect shade of black. Clara grinned and grabbed her notebook – she didn't want to write in her textbook – and her quill. Dipping the tip of the purple-dyed eagle feather into her inkwell, she wrote, _Draught of Living Death: 13 Sopophorous beans, crush with flat side of knife and add one clockwise stir_ onto the parchment _._ Putting her book, quill and ink away, she waited for Professor Slughorn to insect her potion. He started from the left side of the room and eventually made his way over to Snape and dropped a leaf into his potion.

"Oho! Severus, my boy, this is absolutely perfect! I'll have to have a look at the others, of course, but it seems like we've found our winner!" Snape looked a little sour at the thought of anyone else having a perfect potion as Slughorn made his way over to the Gryffindors.

"Lily, this is wonderful! Of course, I should have known your potion would be top-notch!" Lily flushed with pride, she really was a whiz at potions and seemed t blossom under Slughorn's praise. The walrus-like man got around to Marlene and Clara's desk and tested Marlene's potion first. "Oh, Miss McKinnon, this isn't quite dark enough I'm afraid, more of a navy. Better luck next time, my dear." He dropped a leaf into Clara's potion. "Oho! Oho! I never thought we'd have three absolutely perfect Draughts! This is wonderful! Well done, Miss Stone! It seems we have a three-way tie!" If Clara thought Snape looked sour before, it was nothing to how he looked now. Slughorn made his way back to the front of the room and spooned some of the golden potion into three small phials. "Keep it safe now, use it wisely." Clara took her phial with a small grin and a "thank you", before waving her wand to clear away her belongings (after Slughorn had bottled her perfect potion, of course, "saves me brewing any later, you never know when you might need it!"). She left the classroom with her friends, heading for Charms.

"How did you do that?" Marlene marvelled at Clara's prize as she stored it safely in her pocket. "I mean, you've never been particularly terrible at potions but you've never been especially brilliant at it either. I mean, no offense, it's just that Charms is more your thing!"

Clara shrugged, "I added an extra bean and I crushed them instead of slicing them, gets more juice out that way. Oh, and I added an extra stir, clockwise."

Marlene looked amazed. "How did you know to do that?"

Clara glanced around to make sure her other friends were occupied. "I saw Snape and Lily had an extra bean and that Snape crushed them instead so I tried it. The potion didn't look quite right so I added the extra stir to make up for the extra bean."

"Huh," was Marlene's eloquent response. Clara laughed as they got to the Charms classroom. Tiny Professor Flitwick was already perched on a stack of books in order to see over his podium as the students took their places. Mary and Frank were already there so Alice hurried to sit next to her boyfriend, the other girls heading over more slowly. The Marauders casually sat behind them, Sirius leaning back in his seat to wink the same Hufflepuff girl from Potions.

"Ah, crap!" Clara turned to see James looking annoyed, and then he got a sly grin. "Hey, Evans, you got a spare quill?"

Lily turned to glare at James. "No, I don't Potter, and if I did then I certainly wouldn't give it to you. I don't want your arrogant germs all over my stuff!"

"Come on, Evans, you know you love me!" Clara had to admit, with his dark, messy hair and hazel eyes that twinkled behind his round glasses, James Potter was pretty handsome. He wasn't quite as striking as Sirius' aristocratic looks but he was certainly gorgeous. All of the Marauders were, well except for Peter who was chubbier and squatter than the others but Clara supposed he was nice enough in personality, if a little obtuse occasionally. "Please, I just need a quill." Lily scoffed. "Okay, fine, well if you don't want to lend me a quill, will you at least go to Hogsmeade with me for the first trip?"

"Ew, no!" Lily looked disgusted at the very thought of it.

In order to stop any further bickering, Clara held out her spare quill. "Here, James, you can borrow mine."

James smiled at her. "Thanks Clara, you're the best!" He leaned back into his chair as Flitwick started the class.

That night in the common room, Clara was curled in an armchair near the fire. Zemi was snuggled in her lap and she was leaning on the arm of the chair to do her Transfiguration homework. There was an annoyed sigh from Clara's left and she turned to see Lily frowning as she sat on the sofa. "What's up, Lil?"

"Nothing."

"You sure?" Lily nodded and Clara turned back to her essay. There was another sigh and this time it was Alice who asked her what was wrong. "Nothing."

Less than two minutes later, Lily spoke up. "It's just… I can't believe you did that, Clara!"

Clara looked up, surprised. "Did what?"

"Gave Potter your quill!" Lily snapped. "I mean, did he even give it back?"

"Yeah, he gave it back at dinner, I told him he could keep it for the day so he didn't have to borrow another one."

"Well, he's probably done something to it, so be careful when you use it." Lily huffed. "Maybe you should just throw it away."

"Lily," Clara said. "I'm not going to throw away a perfectly good quill just because James touched it." She closed her Transfiguration textbook. "Why are you so riled up about it, anyway?"

"I'm not; I just don't understand why he has to bother me all the time!" Lily green eyes flashed angrily.

"He wasn't really bothering you, Lily," Mary said. "He was only asking for a quill."

"And harassing me about Hogsmeade!"

Clara huffed. "He wasn't harassing you! He was just asking if you wanted to go together on the next trip because he likes you!"

"He doesn't like me!" Lily spat. "He just wants me because I say no to him! He doesn't know me at all!"

"That is not true!" Clara snapped back, not understanding why Lily was getting so angry. "James is the one who helped me plan your birthday party last year, and he picked out everything perfectly because he knows what you like! I didn't know what to get you for Christmas last year either, and James is the one who gave me the idea for a new winter coat because he knows you'd never buy one yourself even though yours was getting tatty!" Clara shoved her work into her bag and stood up. "James Potter is a lovely, kind, amazing friend and you're getting all riled up because I lent him a quill? Are you fucking insane, Lily? What is wrong with you? Usually you're just as great a friend as James, but right now I have no idea what he sees in you. You treat him like dirt on the bottom of your shoe! You have since first year!"

"I treat him that way because that's how he treats other people!" Lily had stood up now too, and the two girls were the same height so they were practically yelling in each other's faces.

"If you mean how he treats Snape, then yeah he does but that's because Snape treats everyone but you the same way! He is just as bad as the Marauders in this little war they have going on. Worse even, after how he treated you last year!"

"He was provoked!"

"Then why haven't you forgiven him?" Lily looked away. "Because you know it's true." Clara stormed over to the stairs to head to bed, not noticing the Marauders watching her every move.

One Marauder in particular looked surprised at Clara's defence of him and his eyes watched her intently as she left the common room.


	3. Defence Against the Dark Arts

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine, but Clara is.**

 **This story is on my Quotev account as well:** _ **502163414/published**_

 **Enjoy!**

Andrew Stone: Lucas Till.

Marie Stone: Kyla Deaver.

The next morning Clara got ready in silence, completely ignoring Lily's presence in the dorm. Grabbing her bag, she pulled on her robes and started her walk to breakfast. She got halfway down the first flight of stairs when someone caught up with her. Clara was surprised to see James Potter out of bed so early. "Hi James, you're up early."

James grinned. "Morning, Clara! I wanted to talk to you, actually."

Clara's eyebrows raised, "Oh?"

The prankster nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to say thanks for defending me last night."

"Oh, you heard about that?" Clara blushed, her cheeks turning a rosy pink.

"Actually, I heard the whole thing in person." James' hand reached up to mess up his already wild hair. It seemed to be a nervous habit; she'd often seen him do it around Lily. "I was in the common room with the boys." Clara nodded, embarrassed. "Hey, don't be embarrassed, we thought it was great. I just don't understand what's so wrong with me that Lily won't go out with me."

Clara frowned. "There's nothing wrong with you, James."

"Really? Then why won't she go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Look," Clara grabbed James' arm and pulled him to a stop just as they neared the doors to the Great Hall. "You can be a little obnoxious sometimes, and pranks aren't everyone's cup of tea, but you're an amazing bloke James and if Lily can't see that then maybe she's not worth your attention anymore."

James tilted his head slightly. "I thought you and Lily were friends?"

"We are," Clara said. "But that doesn't mean I can't think she's wrong sometimes. And I think Lily's wrong about you James."

It was James' turn to blush. "Thanks, Clara."

The blonde smiled at her friend and tugged him towards the Gryffindor table. As Clara took her first bite of toast, a body thumped down on the bench opposite her and she looked up from her plate to see Sirius practically falling asleep on James' shoulder. She giggled as Remus sat next to her. "He is really not a morning person, is he?"

Remus laughed at his friend's morning misery. "Definitely not."

Clara noticed that Remus looked a little tired himself, and a tad paler than usual. "You okay?"

Remus nodded. "Yeah."

"When is it?"

"This Friday."

"Ouch," Clara cringed sympathetically. "The first weekend back, that sucks. Moony, I'm sorry." Clara had figured out Remus' secret in third year, a year after the Marauders. She'd broken her wrist during quidditch practice and had to spend the night in the Hospital Wing. She had been surprised when Madam Pomfrey, the new Mediwitch after the previous Matron had retired, had gone to treat a student whose bed had been hidden by curtains and the curtain had been left open slightly to reveal a battered looking Remus Lupin, who was supposed to be visiting his sick mother. Once Remus found out that Clara knew his secret, he had expected her to judge him and be frightened or disgusted. He was pleasantly surprised when his friend hugged him tightly, careful to avoid his still-healing scratches from the previous moon. Since then, Clara had grown closer to the Marauders, being the only one outside of the four to know that James, Sirius and Peter had succeeded in becoming Animagi in their fifth year, so that they could keep Remus company during the full moon. Clara had, at first, wanted to become one too, but after the boys' vehement protests she had contented herself with staying up on the full moon nights and waiting in the common room for the three Animagi to come back, as they couldn't go to Madam Pomfrey if they got knocked about by wolf-Remus. They were unregistered, after all, which was illegal but necessary as they would definitely not be allowed to stay with Remus during a full moon if anyone knew.

"Hey, it's not your fault." Remus shrugged, helping himself to a big bowl of porridge.

"I know," Clara murmured. "But I still hate it. I hate watching you suffer." Remus shot her a sad smile and Clara was glad when Marlene made an appearance, though her happiness at the topic change didn't last for long.

"I told Alice and Mary I would sit with you, Clara." Marlene's announcement confused the blonde.

"Wouldn't they already know?" she asked. "We sit together every day."

"Yeah, I know," Marlene said through a mouthful of bacon. Ever elegant, that one. "But Lily's still being a moody cow so we thought it best to separate you two this morning."

Clara looked around to see Lily, Alice and Mary sitting down at the other end of the table. Frank was sat next to Alice looking extremely awkward as Lily seemed to be ranting about something – the most likely subjects being either James or herself, Clara supposed. She huffed as she caught Lily's gaze and the redhead rolled her eyes, continuing to vent to Alice and Mary. Clara huffed and pushed her plate away, grabbing her bag and standing up. Her friends looked up from their breakfast and James frowned. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Clara said. "I'm going to class early."

"Why in the name of Merlin would you want to do that?" Sirius' handsome face screwed up in confusion.

"Maybe she just doesn't want to watch you shovel food into your fat gob, Padfoot!" James laughed. Sirius looked offended and started piling more food onto his plate, whether he was doing it to spite James' words or because he was actually hungry, Clara wasn't sure. She was grateful for the distraction, however, and she smiled slightly when James winked at her. Clara glanced towards Lily again and got only a harsh glare in return, Alice and Mary sending her apologetic expressions. Clara huffed again, and turned, storming away from the Gryffindor table.

In the Entrance Hall she bumped into someone and looked up at the taller person's face only to see an almost mirror image of Sirius. Regulus Black was every bit as gorgeous as his older brother. "Watch it, Stone! I don't want your filthy Gryffindor germs all over my robes!" But nowhere near as nice as Sirius, apparently. Clara rolled her eyes as the Slytherin moved passed her and carried on her way to Defence Against the Dark Arts. The classroom was empty when she walked in. She sat in the back, knowing that Lily preferred to sit in the front during classes. Clara set her text books, parchment, quill, ink and wand on the desk. She had just started reading the first chapter of the book when the door opened and the seats started filling up. Marlene came in, sitting next to her and haphazardly tossing her stuff on the desk. "So, you'll never guess who stormed into the Hall looking like he could _Crucio_ someone with his eyes!"

"Regulus Black?"

Marlene's jaw dropped. "How'd you know?"

Clara blushed, "I bumped into him in the Entrance Hall."

"What?" Marlene gasped. "What did he say?" Everyone knew that the Black brothers were two of the most eligible bachelors in Hogwarts, along with James (though everyone knew he was obsessed with Lily), Remus (though he was embarrassed about his 'furry little problem' and hardly ever asked anyone out), Amos Diggory from Hufflepuff, Andrew Stone (Clara's brother) and Christian Garcia (but he had a girlfriend).

"Nothing really, just told me to 'watch it' and that he didn't want my Gryffindor germs on his robes."

"What a jerk!" Marlene looked furious on behalf of her friend. "Hot, but a jerk." Clara grinned and the girls burst into giggles.

"Ladies! Can I have your attention please?" They looked up to see Professor Curtis watching them from the front of the room, an eyebrow raised. Clara hadn't even noticed that class had started, or that the other Gryffindor girls had arrived. Alice and Frank were sitting at the desk next to them and Mary and Lily were sitting at the front, as Clara had expected. "Or is the joke more important than my lesson?"

"There's no joke, Professor." Marlene murmured.

"Then what is so funny?" Curtis demanded.

"Nothing, Professor," Clara said, flushing bright red.

"Then pay attention, if you please!" The girls nodded but, before Professor Curtis could continue her lesson, the door opened and the Marauders burst into the classroom, laughing hysterically. "Gentlemen! If you could please take your seats so I may continue my lesson without any further disruptions!" Curtis' voice grew rather shrill towards the end, her nostrils flaring in anger. She seemed very easy to rile up, Clara thought. But she probably wouldn't come back to teach after this year, no Defence professor had lasted longer than year since 1945, though nobody knew why despite the plenty of rumours. The four boys managed to sit at the two desks behind Clara, Sirius and James going very red in the face in an attempt to keep the laughter in. "Thank you! Now then, Headmaster Dumbledore and I believe it is time to teach you about the Unforgivable curses. There will NOT be any demonstrations due to safety restrictions, but who can tell me the three curses?"

Instantly, hands shot into the air, most of them Slytherins. "You?"

Mulciber was a creepy guy in Clara's opinion, he was friends with Severus Snape and Regulus Black. "The Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse."

"Five points to Slytherin."

"Of course he knows that," Clara heard Sirius mutter. "Death Eater wanna-be."

"Who can tell me what those curses do?" Hands raised again, mostly the same ones as before. "How about… one of the giggle twins from earlier?" Curtis was looking at Clara and Marlene.

"Um…" was Marlene's intelligent response.

"The Imperius Curse gives the caster control over a person's mind," Clara started. "The Cruciatus Curse inflicts pain and is often used as a form of torture. The Killing Curse kills, obviously."

"Very good. Five points to Gryffindor." As Professor Curtis carried on with the lesson, a scrunched up piece of parchment floated to land on Clara's textbook. Frowning, she straightened it out to see James' chicken scratch.

 _How did you know that?_ Clara rolled her eyes and eyes and scrawled, _I read._ She quickly tossed the parchment behind her when the professor wasn't looking. She heard a quiet snort before the note was tossed back to her: _Okay, but why did you know that? Why did you read about it?_

 _Because of my dad,_ she responded. The note didn't come back. Her friends all knew about her father. Anthony Stone was an Auror, before he was killed by Death Eaters. He had been following a lead about his new case and it led him to the LeStrange family. Anthony had been tortured for hours before finally being killed. His body was dumped in a back alley off of Knockturn Alley, and despite a determined investigation led by Anthony's partner, Diego Santos, nothing was ever proven about the LeStrange's involvement in his death. Clara had been 12 at the time, Andrew had been 13 and their little sister Marie had been 10. Marie was now a fourth year in Hufflepuff.

Clara was quiet for the rest of the lesson, keeping her head down and trying not to think about her father.


	4. The Kitchens

Later that night, Clara sat on her bed looking through her Charms homework when the dormitory door opened.

"Oh." Clara looked up at the sound of Lily's voice. "I didn't realise anyone was up here."

"Okay." Clara turned back to her essay. Lily wandered about the dorm, getting ready for bed. She hesitated before getting in bed, looking at Clara. "What , Lily?"

"I just… I just don't understand how you're friends with them."

"What?"

"No, I just mean, well, you're so different from them." Lily sat on the end of Clara's bed, carefully. "They're so obnoxious, especially Black and Potter and you're much quieter and… I don't know, not shyer… just…"

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Clara said. She sighed and put her Charms work away. "Look, Lily, the boys and I _are_ different, but that's a good thing. If I was too much like them, I wouldn't be friends with you or the other girls and I'd hate that! I love you, you guys are my best friends. But I'm also friends with James and the others and I need you to accept that. It doesn't change anything between us, except that maybe we won't fight about it anymore, I hope. Please Lily, just try?"

Lily had tears in her green eyes. "I can't promise that I can like them, but I will try, for you."

Clara grinned. "Thank you!" She practically lunged across the bed, throwing her arms around her friend. Lily returned the hug with as much enthusiasm.

"Awww!"

Both girls looked towards the door, where the squeal had come from, only to see Alice, Mary and Marlene crowded there. Alice had been the one to squeal, she had a huge grin on her face. "You guys made up!"

"Yeah, we did." said Clara. Alice squealed again, this time joined by Mary and Marlene, and all three girls leaped for the bed.

"Group hug!"

"Well, well… you lot made up then?"

Clara laughed as Sirius plonked himself down beside her, yanking the coffee pot out of Remus' hands. "Yes, we did."

"Good," he said. "I don't think I could take any more of that drama. And over _Prongs_?" He seemed scandalised. " _I'm_ the sexy one." He grinned roguishly at Marlene and she rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, you vain idiot." she huffed. Sirius gasped like the Drama Queen he was and Clara giggled.

"Where is James, anyway?" she wondered.

"BOO!" Clara jumped, nearly falling of backwards off the bench. Instead, she bumped her head against a toned chest and turned to James grinning down at her. "You called, milady?"

Clara giggled again, and shuffled closer to Marlene to make space between her and Sirius, who had practically drowned his pancakes in maple syrup. James squeezed into the space, his knee resting against Clara's. "I was just wondering what mischief you were up to."

James smirked. "Nothing much, just don't eat the eggs this morning."

Mary instantly shoved her breakfast plate away. "What did you do?"

James didn't get a chance to answer though, as a shrill scream came from the Slytherin table. The group turned to see Severus Snape… covered in feathers that matched his greasy black hair, a rooster's comb poking out of his head and a beak in place of his mouth and nose. There were gasps and laughter throughout the Great Hall as more people started turning into human/poultry hybrids: Lucius Malfoy has sprouted a peacock tail, the elegant feathers matching his white blond hair and Charlie Daunton from Ravenclaw had gained an appearance eerily similar to a Swan, long neck and all. Clearly they had all eaten eggs for breakfast.

Drew Stone, Clara's older brother, sauntered up to them, laughing hysterically. "You blokes do this?"

The Marauders grinned. "We can neither confirm nor deny that," replied Remus.

"Though we can say, only the guys who eat eggs for breakfast will be affected," continued Sirius.

"Said effects will wear off by lunch," finished James.

Drew laughed, "And none of this is affecting any girls?"

"No," said Remus. "We didn't want to risk this lot killing us in our sleep." He grinned, gesturing to Clara and the other girls.

"Yeah, fair enough. I know how Clara can get when she's crossed." Drew grinned when his sister whacked his arm. "See you blokes for try-outs later."

"Wait, try-outs are today?" James looked panicked. "Why didn't anyone announce this?!"

Drew frowned, "Didn't you check the notice board in the common room?"

"Oh," James said. "No, we were too busy with the prank planning." He relaxed back into his seat. Drew laughed again and headed towards his fellow seventh years.

"I can't believe Drew's having try-outs so early," said Mary.

"Well," said Clara. "We do need a new beater since Dukes graduated last year."

"Not to mention a new chaser," added James.

"Yeah but the first game isn't until the end of October!" Mary frowned. "I'll never understand quidditch."

"We need the time to practice," said Clara. "Especially if we want to beat Slytherin this year."

"I will _not_ let those slimy gits win the Cup _again_!" Sirius hissed.

"Chill, Padfoot! They won't." Clara laughed a bit at her friend's vehemence.

"They'd better not," he huffed.

"Don't worry, Padfoot, we'll have an amazing team this year! We'll kick their slimy, snakey arses!" James cheered, drawing a few glares from the Slytherin table.

"I don't understand those stupid nicknames," Lily muttered. Clara nudged her leg under the table and Lily shrugged. "Well I don't, and they _are_ stupid when you don't know what they mean."

"It's not your business, Lil, drop it please." Clara told her.

"Well, why can _you_ know but we can't?" Lily snapped.

"Lily," said Alice.

"No, Alice! I want to know!"

"Lily, you are not entitled to know everything! If we wanted you to know, we would tell you!" James snapped.

"Now, now," Marlene intervened. "We've only just made up, let's not fight again."

"Marlene's right," said Remus. "We should be going to class now anyway."

Lily huffed. "Fine, fine, I'll leave it alone."

"Thank you." said Clara. As the group headed for classes, Clara caught Remus' arm. "You okay, Moony?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "She's going to figure it out sooner or later, I reckon. Maybe I should just tell her."

"If that's what you want."

"I don't know, Clara. I'll think about it." Remus smiled and held out his arm like a gentlemen. "Come along Sparkle, we've got classes to attend."

Clara rolled her eyes as she took his arm. "I don't know why you guys insist on calling me that."

"Because you bring sparkle to our lives," Remus winked and she giggled.

"Cheesy gits."

By the end of the day, the effects of the Marauder's prank eggs had completely worn off, having lasted a few hours longer than the boys had predicted. The Marauders themselves had fallen victim to a few Levicorpus jinxes in the halls as revenge, but Sirius had kept a list of those who dared prank the "Kings of Pranking" as he'd declared them. Clara was walking down the Charms corridor on her way to dinner. She'd stayed after class to talk to Professor Flitwick about her essay, she really did love Charms. As she rounded the corner just before the stairs, someone practically leapt on top of her.

"Oomph!" Clara gasped as she hit the floor, a snap sounding as her wrist cracked. "Ow!"

"Sorry." Clara's head shot up at the voice, her green eyes connecting with the silvery-grey ones of Regulus Black. "Oh, it's you."

"Excuse me?" Clara's eyes narrowed dangerously as she stood up. "You're the one who just practically assaulted me!"

"Right," she'd never seen him look so awkward. "Sorry, about that. The stairs started moving and I didn't want to end up in the wrong corridor." Clara peeked around him – damn, he was tall! – and saw that the stairs leading up had indeed decided to move.

"So you just decided to jump down the stairs?"

"I didn't really think about it."

"Right."

"Well, I'm going to dinner now…" Regulus trailed off as he noticed she was cradling her right arm to chest. "What's wrong?"

"I think its broken." she murmured.

"Did _I_ do that?" Regulus looked so much like his brother in that moment, but Clara would never tell him that.

"It wasn't your fault." Clara told him.

"No, it was the damn stairs." he said. "Come on, I'll take you the Hospital Wing." Regulus grabbed Clara's bag and started down the second set of stairs. She followed him without a word. When they reached to doors of Madam Pomfrey's domain, Regulus gave her ag back and Clara gave him a small smile.

"Thanks."

"No problem." The Slytherin turned on his heel and strode away, presumably to catch the end of dinner.

Clara explained to Madam Pomfrey how she'd been injured and the woman tutted as she healed the broken bone. "Now, off to bed with you!" she scolded and Clara hurried off, lest she be forced into spending the night in the Hospital Wing. When she reached the Common Room, dinner had long since finished. She'd already been late when she'd bumped into Regulus. Her friends were sitting around the fire, all occupied with their own various tasks: homework, reading and, in the case of Sirius and James, scheming pranks. Clara sighed, as she relaxed onto the sofa.

"Where have you been?" asked Alice. "We couldn't find you at dinner."

"Yeah, Flitwick turned up halfway through," said Marlene as she dipped her quill into her ink pot.

"I got knocked over by Regulus Black and he had to take me to Madam Pomfrey."

Sirius' head snapped up. "What?"

"Yeah, he jumped down the stairs into the Charms corridor because they were starting to move. He didn't see me and he knocked me over. I broke my wrist so he took me to the Hospital Wing."

" _Regulus_ took you to the Hospital Wing?" Sirius frowned. " _Regulus Black_? My brother?"

"Yeah, Sirius," said Mary. "That's what she said.

"Huh." Sirius sat back, a frown on his handsome features. The group grew quiet for a few moments, everyone watching Sirius. He was known to get angry about his family. "I'm going to bed." He grabbed is stuff and hurried upstairs. Remus packed up his own belongings. "I'll go check on him."

"I'm going up to, I reckon." Alice headed up to the girl's dorm, Mary following after her tiredly.

Clara pulled out her Transfiguration homework. She struggled through a chapter on Transubstantial Transfiguration. She was halfway through a paragraph on whether it was possible to transfigure edible food out of things like leaves, raw grain and even inanimate objects like plates, when she felt eyes on her. Looking up, Clara saw that Peter, Lily and Marlene had all disappeared up to bed at some point, as had the majority of the Gryffindors. She and James were the only ones in the room now, apart from a couple of seventh year students studying for their NEWTS. It was James who had been watching her.

"You okay?" he asked. "You're frowning pretty hard there."

"I hate Transfiguration," she huffed.

"What are you struggling with?" James moved to sit next to her on the sofa. She was now stuck between him and the arm of the seat.

"Um, Gamp's Law," she told him.

"Yeah, that's a tough one to get into," James said. "But when you get passed the long, boring way they explain it in the book, it's actually quite interesting."

"Yeah, well it doesn't help that my brain doesn't seem to want to focus," she sighed. "Missing dinner sucks."

"Yeah, I've missed it a few times due to detention," James grinned. "Harper was particularly cruel." Riley Harper was the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for their fourth year; he had a nasty habit of setting detentions to clash with meal times. "We found a way around that though."

Clara frowned, "Did Frank save you guys food or something? Damn, I wish one of the girls had done that."

"No," James laughed. "This is way cooler." He took her homework and piled in onto the table with his own. "Come on." James took her hand and, despite protests that they would get into trouble if they were caught out after curfew, pulled Clara out of the Common Room.

"James, where are we going?"

"You'll see." Finally, they stopped at a portrait of a fruit bowl.

"Are we near the Hufflepuff Common Room?" Clara wondered.

"Yeah, but that's not shy we're here." James grinned. "Tickle the pear."

"What?"

"Tickle the pear," he insisted.

Clara sighed and gently tickled the pear. She jumped when it gave a high-pitched giggle and morphed into a doorknob. James swung the portrait open and Clara gasped. House Elves were _everywhere_. She'd seen House Elves before of course, James' family owned three of them, but never had she seen so many in one place.

" _Whoa_!" Clara's jaw practically hit the ground.

James laughed, "It's awesome, right?" Clara just nodded.

"Mister James! Mister James!" A little House Elf with huge blue eyes, floppy ears and wearing a grey tea-towel/pillowcase combination with a Hogwarts crest on the front. "Mipsy has saved yous some food, Mister James, just in cases yous was hungry!"

James grinned. "Thanks, Mipsy. This is my friend, Clara. She missed dinner so could we possibly trouble you for some leftovers?"

"Of course, of course!" Mipsy practically bounced at the thought of feeding someone. "Mipsy well get Misses Clara some food!" As Mipsy danced off in a hurry, James took Clara's hand and pulled her over to a table. It was then that she realised there were replicas of the House Tables and the Staff Table. They sat opposite each other at the end of the replica Gryffindor table.

"So, you come down here a lot?" Clara asked.

"Yeah, well, Pete never stops eating and Remus can always go for chocolate, you know how he is," James said.

"You and Sirius?"

"Ah, well… we're growing boys, you know?" His eyes twinkled and Clara giggled. "Yes, I know." They were interrupted by Mipsy and another Elf, almost identical to Mipsy, appearing with two trays laden with food. "Thank you, Mipsy," Clara murmured.

"Yous is most welcome, Misses Clara!" Mipsy declared. "Is there anything else Mipsy and Mopsy can get yous?"

"No thank you, Mipsy, "James said. "This looks delicious." Both Elves seemed to glow with pride at James' praise and they disappeared with a sharp _crack._ Clara looked at the food set out on the trays and grinned. Beef stew with tiger bread; roast chicken and vegetables; cheese and crackers; a platter of sandwiches; chocolate fudge cake, strawberry cheesecake and treacle tart along with an assortment of drinks: tea, coffee, hot chocolate, pumpkin juice, apple juice and a jug of water.

James dug in, piling his plate with sandwiches and the roast chicken and vegetables. Clara filled a huge bowl of beef stew and tucked in, dipping tiger bread into the stew. She groaned, "Oh Merlin, this is Heaven!"

James chuckled and swallowed his beef sandwich. "The Elves' cooking is pretty amazing."

"This beef stew is gorgeous!" Clara gushed. "I wonder if they'd give me the recipe."

"I doubt it, they're pretty secretive about those things," he said.

"Damn." Clara finished her bowl of stew and reached for the ladle, serving herself some more.

"Mum makes a pretty mean stew," James told her. "I'll ask her to make it next time you're over at my place." Clara had visited the Potter Manor a few times, since she had befriended the boys in second year.

"Oh, that would be awesome!" Clara smiled at James and he grinned back, his glasses sitting a little crookedly on his nose.

"You're cute when you smile," he said. "Your nose scrunches up."

Clara cheeks turned a rosy pink. "Uh, thanks."

They finished the rest of their meal quietly, Clara glancing up at James occasionally. Every time, she would catch him staring right back and the pink in her cheeks would only get darker. Eventually, after they'd demolished half of the desserts and James swiping a few leftover sandwiches for the other boys ("Peter has a habit of getting hungry in the middle of the night.") they headed back up to the Gryffindor Common Room. As they reached the stairs that led to their separate dormitories, Clara turned to James. "Thanks for tonight, it was great."

"Hey, no problem," he said. "And if you need any help with that Transfiguration stuff, just ask, okay?"

She smiled. "Thanks, James. Goodnight."

"Night, Sparkle."

Clara giggled and started up the stairs. She made it two steps before she turned back to James. Quickly, she leaned forward and pecked his cheek before hurrying up the stairs.

That night, before she went to sleep, Clara smiled and thought of James.


	5. Hogsmeade

A few weeks after the night in the kitchens, Clara woke up to Zemi nudging her face. "Mmm… what, Zem?"

"Mrrow!"

"Urgh!" Clara threw back her warm covers and made her way over to open the door. "There!"

"Mrrow!" Zemi nudged her leg before padding out of the dorm and Clara sighed.

"Clara?"

She turned to see Lily sitting up in bed, shoving her fiery hair out of her face sleepily. "Oh, sorry Lil. Zemi decided to be a pain in the arse this morning."

"S'okay," her friend replied. "What time is it? You going to Hogsmeade today?"

"It's twenty-to-nine and yeah I'm going with Marlene. You wanna come with us?"

"Sure." Lily flopped back onto her bed. "Is Alice going with Frank?"

"Yeah," said Clara, grabbing her clothes for the day. "And Mary has a date with a seventh year Ravenclaw so she might meet up with us later on."

"Okay." Lily's soft snores started up again and Clara grinned. She headed for the bathroom, taking a quick shower. Using her wand to dry her hair, she pulled the front back into two braids that joined at the crown of head into one long braid, leaving the rest down in its natural curly state. She outlined her green eyes with some natural eyeshadow, black winged eyeliner and mascara, applying a light pink gloss to her lips. She cast a setting charm to ensure there would be no smudges and got dressed: dark-wash skinny jeans, a light blue top that ended just above her belly button (showing the piercing she'd gotten over the summer) with long lace sleeves. She put simple diamond studs in her ears and left the bathroom to find her shoes. She decided on tan ankle boots with a two inch heel and grabbed a brown leather jacket to keep her warm. By this time, her friends were up and about but only Mary was ready to go.

"Breakfast?" she asked. Clara nodded and they headed down the stairs. The Great Hall was full of students excited for the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. Clara and Mary quickly sat on the end of the Gryffindor Table. Clara filled her plate with sausage, toast, hash browns and small pot of strawberries. She poured herself a goblet of apple juice and tucked in happily.

"So, you excited for your date?"

"Yeah," Mary grinned, a small blush staining her cheeks. "Nick is great!"

"He's a chaser for the Ravenclaw team, right?"

"Yeah."

"Better not tell the boys about that yet," Clara said.

Mary frowned. "Why not?"

"Well, Remus will be fine but James and Sirius are on the team so everyone on another team is 'the enemy'." She rolled her eyes as the boys' competitiveness. "They'd probably hassle you guys and they'll likely drag Peter into it too. You shouldn't have to deal with that 'til you know it's serious, right?"

"I suppose," Mary agreed. "Nick's hot though, I don't care if he's on another team."

"Me either, but you know what the boys are like."

"True."

"And you're right," Clara grinned, mischievously. "He _is_ hot." The girls giggled.

"Talking about me?"

Clara rolled her eyes again. "No, Sirius. If we were talking about you we'd be saying what a _dog_ you are, you manwhore."

"I can't help it if the ladies love me." The boy grinned as he piled his plate high with food, James and Remus sitting opposite him.

"You're not _that_ hot, Black."

Sirius gasped dramatically, pointing his bacon-laden fork at Mary. "You take that back!"

"No, I will not," she said. "It's true."

Sirius pouted and Clara laughed. "Oh stop it, Sirius. You're handsome and you know it, Mary's only teasing you. Drama Queen!"

Sirius smirked. "Hear that, Prongs? Sparkle thinks I'm hot."

"I do not!" she protested. "I just said you're handsome, in an objective way." She gestured between them with her own fork. "Me and you? _Never gonna happen_." Sirius clutched his chest, "You wound me, love."

Clara rolled her eyes and looked at James. "You okay?" He was frowning at Sirius.

"Hmm?" he looked away from his best friend but wouldn't meet Clara's eyes. "Yeah, fine."

"Okay, if you're sure."

James nodded and Clara shrugged, finishing her breakfast. She wrapped some toast in a couple of napkins and stood up with Mary. "See ya later, boys!" The two girls left the Great Hall, coming to the bottom of the stairs in the Entrance Hall just as Lily and Marlene did. "Here," Clara handed them each a stack of toast and both girls smiled. "Where's Alice?"

"She's already gone with Frank," Marlene told her.

"I'd better go," said Mary. "Nick's meeting me at the front gate, we're walking down together."

"Aww," Clara gushed. "That's so cute!"

"Let us know how it goes!" Lily called after her. "Shall we be off, ladies?"

They decided to catch a carriage instead of walking a half an hour to the village. Their first stop was, of course, Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe. Clara loved the smell of the shop, chocolate and honey and a variety of other sugary treats. She filled her basket with Chocolate Frogs, Liquorice Wands (she preferred the new strawberry flavour), Chocolate Cauldrons, Choco-balls, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Sugar Quills and some Glacial Snowflakes. She quickly grabbed a box of Treacle Fudge and made her way to the counter. After paying for her sweets she met Lily and Marlene at the door and they headed off to Scrivenshaft's where Clara bought a new fancy purple quill and a set of smaller white ones, as well as two new ink pots. They visited J. Pippin's Potions to stock up on ingredients and Gladrags Wizardwear to peruse the robes sales. Finally, at 2 o' clock, Marlene decided she was hungry so they went to The Three Broomsticks. Finding a table, Marlene went to the bar to order Butterbeers and sandwiches. When she came back she was followed by three boys.

"Hi guys!" Clara chimed happily. James sat next to her, their arms touching and Sirius on his other side leaving Lily comfortably between Marlene and Remus. "Where's Pete?"

"He's still in Honeydukes," said Remus.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "He's been there for at least an hour."

"What's he doing in there for so long?" Lily wondered.

"Trying as many samples as he can," James said, chuckling a bit. "He's a bit enthusiastic."

"That's one way of putting it," Sirius cringed.

Clara giggled. "Peter _is_ a bit of a foodie, isn't he?"

"You should have seen him at Christmas, last year!" Sirius laughed.

"Dad said he's never seen someone eat almost a whole turkey before," James grinned as Clara giggled again.

Lily cringed, "That's disgusting! How can he eat so much?" The boys all shrugged as Madam Rosmerta, the pub's young proprietor, came over with three plates levitating in front of her.

"Here you are, girls. One turkey on rye for Marlene, one chicken mayonnaise for Clara and one cheese and tomato for Lily." The plates landed in front of their respective diners and the girls smiled.

"Thanks, Rosmerta!" they cheered in unison.

"Anything for three of my favourite customers," Rosmerta laughed. "You boys want some food?"

"No thanks, Rosie, we already ate." Sirius leaned forward and gave his signature smirk at the young woman.

"Sirius, how many times have I told you not to call me that?" she asked, good-naturedly.

"I think it suits you," he replied charmingly. " _For a rose by any other name would not smell as sweet_."

Rosmerta giggled. "You charmer, you!"

Remus rolled his eyes at his friend's flirting. "Can we get some Butterbeers, please?"

"Sure, Remus." As Rosmerta walked off back towards the bar, Sirius hurried after her, "I'll help you, Rosie!"

Clara laughed, shaking her head slightly. "He's such an idiot."

"I know," James said. "But he's fancied Rosmerta since third year." A 19-year-old Rosmerta had just taken over The Three Broomsticks from her grandmother when they had first started visiting Hogsmeade. "He knows she'll never go for him, but what's the harm in a bit of flirting?" Clara had never noticed how his eyes crinkled slightly when he grinned like that. She shifted a bit in her seat, taking a sip of her drink. She caught Marlene's eye and the other blonde smirked at her. Clara looked away, blushing slightly.

When they were walking back up to the castle after the carriage had dropped them at the gates, Marlene pulled Clara slightly ahead of the others. "You fancy him!"

"What?" Clara frowned. "Fancy who?"

"Don't pretend you don't know who I'm talking about!" Marlene grinned, knowingly. "You fancy James!"

"Say it a little louder, why don't you!" Clara hissed.

"Aha!" she crowed triumphantly. "So it's true!"

"I don't know!" Clara said. "I mean, I've been noticing a few things lately."

"Like?" Marlene prompted.

She sighed. "Like how his smile is a little crooked and his eyes crinkle in the corners slightly when he laughs. He runs his hands through his hair when he's nervous. He takes his glasses off and rubs his nose when he's tired. He gives me butterflies."

"Aww!" Marlene squealed and Clara shushed her again.

"Shut up! It's no big deal."

"Why not?" her friend demanded.

"Because he fancies Lily," Clara said.

"You know, I'm not so sure," Marlene said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've noticed some things too over the last few weeks. He's been looking at you more, when you aren't watching. He takes every opportunity to touch you, like leaning in when you talk, and how he sat in the Broomsticks so that your arms touched."

"That was just because he was squashed between me and Sirius."

"What about when Sirius went after Rosmerta? James didn't move. Besides, he hasn't asked Lily out since that time in Charms class."

Clara's eyes widened. "He hasn't?"

"Nope!" Marlene grinned at her friend. "I think he fancies you back."

"I doubt it. He's probably just carefully planning his next way to ask Lily out."

"Whatever, I still think he fancies you." Clara rolled her eyes as they finally reached the Entrance Hall. Thankfully, Marlene dropped the subject but it didn't stop Clara from feeling awkward every time she me James' gaze at dinner.

 **James POV:**

All throughout the lunch at The Three Broomsticks, James couldn't keep his mind off of how stunning Clara looked. He especially appreciated the glimpse of sparkle at her navel, revealed by her shirt. She was so different to Lily and yet James couldn't help but think that Clara was better. He thought her blonde hair gave her an angelic look, particularly with the fancy braid thing she'd done it in., and he loved how the makeup she wore emphasised her green eyes. They were the same colour as Lily's but now that he thought about it, Clara's seemed darker, more of a forest-green. He could stare into them forever.

At dinner, she kept catching his eyes and looking away. She would blush every time and the pink on her cheeks was adorable.

Remus nudged him. "You okay, mate?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You keep staring at Clara."

"Do I?"

"Don't be coy James, it doesn't suit you." Remus said. "Do you fancy her?"

"No! Yes! I don't know." James ran a hand through his already messy hair and shoved his glasses back up his nose. "I just – I've noticed things lately. I don't know, Moony."

"What about Lily?"

James sighed. "She's never going to want me. I'm just an annoyance to her. But Clara – she's kind, she's sweet, and she defended me when she didn't have to. She's stunning, she's crap at Transfiguration but I don't mind because I love helping her. She doesn't care how much she eats or what other people think of her." James sighed again, glancing back at the blonde who clouded his thoughts lately. "I think I do, Moony."

"Fancy her?" His scarred friend grinned. "I wouldn't blame you, Prongs, you are allowed to fancy someone who isn't Lily, you know?"

"I know," James said. "It's just that I've been chasing Lily for so long and Clara's completely different. I don't know what to do."

"Well," said Remus. "You could start by not comparing her to Lily. They're completely different people and that's a good thing."

"Right." James nodded.

"Also, maybe start hanging out with Clara a bit more."

"We hang out loads."

"I meant just the two of you, but as friends so that you can be certain you do fancy her and maybe see if she feels the same way. That way it's not as embarrassing when you eventually ask her out."

"Okay, sounds like a plan."

After dinner, James pulled Clara aside in the Common Room. "Hey, so do you need help with any Transfiguration homework? I just remember how much you hate it so I thought I'd ask."

"Oh, sure!" she looked relieved. "Thanks! I wanted to ask, but I just haven't had a chance to."

He smiled, "Hey, no problem."

"Oh, wait!" Clara dropped her shopping bags on the table next to them and pulled something out of a Honeydukes bag. "I saw this and I know it's your favourite."

He took the box and smiled: Treacle Fudge. "Thanks! You didn't have to though."

"I wanted to." Clara blushed again. "Um, I should be getting upstairs. I want to put all this away before I got to bed."

"Sure," he said. "So, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yeah, you wanna get together to do Transfiguration work tomorrow?"

"Oh!" Clara smiled. "Yes, I would like that."

"Awesome." He watched as she walked up to her dormitory and smiled to himself as he headed to bed.

When James fell asleep that night, he dreamt of blonde curls, green eyes, that stunning smile and an adorable pink blush.


	6. Studying

**It's just a short one this time, I've been very busy lately as my dissertation was due in on Monday. I hope to get another chapter out by Sunday, I'll be updating TMLD tomorrow. Enjoy.**

Clara woke up late on Sunday morning with a smile on her face; she had dreamt of quidditch, treacle fudge and hazel eyes that twinkled behind circular spectacles. She yawned, climbing out of bed for a quick shower. Throwing on a pair of jeans and a Gryffindor t-shirt with her Hogwarts cardigan over it, Clare did her makeup and slid on her white tennis pumps. She shoved her Transfiguration work in her school bag, along with parchment, ink and quills. She left her still-sleeping friends and went to breakfast.

The Great Hall was practically empty, despite it being nearly eleven in the morning. Clara sat at her House table and assembled a bacon and mushroom sandwich. She was halfway through her second sandwich when someone sat next to her.

Swallowing her mouthful, she greeted, "Morning, James."

"Morning!" James grinned, piling a mountain of food onto his plate. Clara raised an eyebrow. "I am a growing boy!" he defended.

Clara giggled, "Yeah but keep eating like that and you'll be growing sideways."

James gasped dramatically, dropping his fork and clutching at his chest. "How dare you? Are you calling me fat?"

"I would never," Clara said sarcastically before poking his side. "Wow, James, you should really exercise more. Your quidditch muscles are disappearing under all this bacon."

" _Attacked_!" he moaned. "I feel attacked!"

Clara laughed, bringing her hand up to cover the slight snort she let out, and James smiled. "That's cute." Her cheeks reddened and she looked away, sipping her apple juice. Inside, she was squealing; James thought she was cute! _Wait,_ she thought, _did he mean cute as in 'attractive' or cute as in 'I see her as a cute little sister'?_ Maybe she should have worn a cuter outfit… but they were just studying! For Merlin sake, it was only James!

"Clara, you okay?"

"Hmm?" she looked at James who was watching her, a little concerned. "Yeah, sorry I'm just half-asleep," she joked.

James chuckled. "So you wanna go to the library or something? That's where people study, right?"

"Actually, it's really nice out today," Clara said, gesturing towards the ceiling that revealed blue skies and sunshine. "Why don't we sit outside?"

"Sounds fun," James smiled. They made their way out of the castle and out onto the grounds. Eventually, they settle on a spot near the lake under the shade of a huge tree. James drew is wand and conjured a picnic blanket, red of course, for them to sit on. "So, are you still struggling with Gamp's Law?"

"No," Clara sighed. "I need help with Cross-Species Switching."

James frowned. "Didn't we do it in fourth year?"

"Yeah, but only the theory, remember?" Clara said. "That's fine, it's just the actual casting that I struggle with."

"Okay, well let me see," James reached for her Transfiguration book.

Three hours later, Clara sighed in relief as she relaxed back onto the picnic blanket. James chuckled at her as he leaned against the tree. "Thank you!" she smiled.

"You're welcome."

"So, are you and the guys doing anything interesting this afternoon?"

"Nah," James shrugged. "Probably just plan a few pranks, Moony will pester us about homework. If Sirius gets too antsy, I dunno, we might have a scrimmage game or something. What about you girls?"

"Nothing interesting," Clara smiled again, moving to lean next to him. "I can just relax now that all my homework is finished."

"Well, if have that scrimmage, you could always join us?"

"You sure?" she teased. "I am the best on the team, after all."

James gasped, "You take that back!"

"Hmm… nope!"

Clara giggled as James playfully lunged at her, pinning her to the blanket and tickling her, all the while laughing madly. She squealed, pushing at his chest in an attempt to get him off. James caught both her hands on one of his, his other hand resting on the blanket above Clara's head. Clara's giggles faded and she was left gazing into James' hazel eyes. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as his face slowly got closer to hers. Her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip and James eyes were drawn to it. After a long few seconds, James finally dipped his head and their mouths connected. It was brief and gentle. James pulled back to look into her eyes and Clara smiled, pulling her hands free from his and tugging his face back to hers. She kissed, him again, both of them smiling into it.

"Prongs!"

Clara and James snapped apart, the shout having startled them, disturbing the quiet. They turned to see Sirius and Remus heading towards them, the former wearing a shit-eating grin. "Watcha dooooooing?"

"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus nudged him. "Leave them alone."

"It's fine," Clara said. "I should get back to the girls anyway."

"Hey," James grabbed her hand. "We'll talk later?" Clara smiled, nodding shyly and packed her stuff.

As she walked back to the castle, the smile never left her face, only growing from her happiness. However, when she reached the common room, Clara caught sight of Lily sitting near the fire with Alice and she frowned.

Didn't James fancy Lily? Or had something changed?


	7. Talks

Clara didn't go to the scrimmage game in the end. Instead, she curled up on her bed and read until dinner where she pointedly avoided looking at James sitting further down the table. By lunch time on Monday she had worked herself up to the point where she couldn't look at Lily either. She knew that Lily had no feelings for James but she couldn't stop thinking about when James' feelings for her redheaded friend had changed. Was this another of James' ploys to get to Lily – making her jealous by showing affection for Clara? But he did kiss her in private…

"Clara? You alright?"

"Hmm?" Clara looked up at Dorcas Meadows who had found her hiding spot in the library during her free period. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Dorcas took the seat on the other side of the little table. "You've been spaced out for a while. Pan even noticed."

Clara raised her eyebrows; Pandora never noticed anyone spacing out, she was always too busy doing it herself. "Wow."

"So, what were you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing," Clara hedged. "Just, you know, homework." Then she winced a little, remembering the homework she did yesterday. _Damn it, James!_

"What was that?" Dorcas asked.

"What was what?"

"That little flinch-thing you just did."

"Nothing." Clara shifted in her seat and Dorcas smiled.

"It's something!" The Ravenclaw leaned forward. "Spill!"

"Cas…" Clara caught the look her friend gave her. "Fine. James was helping me with Transfiguration yesterday –"

"James Potter?"

"Who else?"

"I dunno," Dorcas shrugged. "Pretty sure there's a James in Hufflepuff."

"Anyway… long story short James kissed me."

"WHAT?"

"Shhh! Madam Pince could be lurking anywhere!" Clara hissed.

" _What?_ " Dorcas gasped. "James Potter _kissed_ you! Finally!"

"What?" Clara asked confused. "What do you mean, 'finally'?"

"I mean," Dorcas said. "It's obvious that you like each other."

"It is?"

"Duh! He can't keep his eyes off you."

"Really? I thought he liked Lily." Clara leaned back in her seat, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Not for a while now," Dorcas frowned. "You really had no idea?"

"I had no idea he might like me until he kissed me yesterday."

"Who kiss you yesterday?"

"Lily!" Clara jumped. "You startled me."

"Sorry." Lily sat next to Clara and yanked her homework out of her bag. "So, who kissed you?"

"Er, nobody," Clara said.

"She lies," Dorcas stated. "She had a very lovely encounter with –"

"With nobody!" Clara snapped.

"Whoa," Lily laughed a bit. "Must have been some kiss."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Fine, fine." Her friends finally let it go. "I should get back to Pan anyway," Dorcas sighed.

"See you, Cas," the Gryffindor girls said.

"So, you're really not gonna tell me who kissed you?" Lily asked.

"Nope!" Clara shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because," she sighed. "You'll get judgey."

"I won't!" Lily looked at her friend, offended and Clara just raised an eyebrow. "I won't."

"Fine, you really want to know?" Lily nodded. "It was James."

Lily's eyebrows rose. "Potter?"

"That would be the one."

"Huh. _Potter_?"

"Lily, you said you wouldn't judge."

"Sorry, I'm not judging." Lily looked at Clara. "Do you like him? No judgement, just… do you like him?"

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I really do."

"Then I think you should go for it."

Clara's head snapped up. "Really?"

"Yeah, well," the redhead sighed. "He's less of a toerag around you. And I can see how much you like him… and how much he likes you. So, go for it."

"Thanks, Lil." Clara leaned over and hugged Lily tightly, both girls laughing when they pulled away. "Now, we should get to our last class."

"I can't believe we have a free period and _then_ our last class," Lily complained. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Clara practically collapsed into her favourite armchair by the fire. It was late and she'd finally made it back to the empty Common Room after spending three and half hours in the library again after dinner, working on her Potions homework. _Bloody Slughorn_. She sighed tiredly and kicked her shoes off, tucking her feet underneath her and curling up. As she basked in the warmth of the fire she didn't notice someone coming up behind her.

"Clara?"

She jumped, nearly falling out of her chair. "Bloody hell, James! Are you trying to kill me?"

He chuckled. "Actually, I want to talk to you."

"Okay." She didn't bother asking what he wanted to talk about, she knew it was about the kiss.

"So…" James started as he sat on the sofa. "How, er… how do you feel? About yesterday?"

"Um…" Clara sat up and turned to face the bespectacled boy. "Well, I liked it. It… was good."

"Just good?"

"I mean," she sighed. "I really liked it, James. And… I really like you." James smiled but it fell when she added, "But…"

"But?"

"But, I thought you fancied Lily. So it was kind of a surprise when you kissed me."

"Clara," she looked up at him as he leaned forward to take her hand. "Haven't you noticed how I haven't asked Lily out for a while now?"

"Oh," she said. "I have, I just thought maybe it was some way of letting her have space or you were planning something huge."

James smiled again and Clara's cheeks flushed pink. "At first I was giving her space. Then I noticed how amazing you are. I mean, I know we've been friends for years and, of course, I knew you were awesome but… I just never noticed exactly how wonderful you are before this year, Clara. And I feel like such an idiot for wasting all that time chasing a girl who, as it turns out, is definitely not right for me."

By this point, Clara's face was a bright red and she couldn't stop smiling. "James -"

"Let me finish," he nudged her gently. "I was wondering, hoping actually, that you would say yes if I ask you to be my girlfriend."

"Well, I don't know," Clara teased. "You'll have to ask me and find out."

James laughed. "Oh, that's how it's gonna be? Alright." James stood up, pulling Clara with him by the hand he still held. He took her other hand and drew her in close. "Clara Stone, will you please do me the honour of being my girlfriend?"

"Hmm…" Clara mimicked a thoughtful faced and James nudged her again. She laughed. "Yes, James, I will be your girlfriend."

James grinned widely, pulling Clara even closer, and pressed his lips to hers. Clara sighed happily into the kiss, marvelling that this wonderful guy was now hers.


	8. Happiness

**Just a short one today as I'm not very well but I didn't want to leave you without an update. Enjoy!**

Giggles echoed quietly through the almost empty library. It was nearing nine o'clock at night and Madam Pince would be closing the library soon. Clara giggled again as James gently brushed his nose up the side of her neck and up to her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin.

"James, we should go," she whispered.

"But I don't want to," he murmured back.

"Madam Pince will come around soon," Clara said. "She'll kick us out."

James sighed, "Fine." Clara giggled again, this time at the adorable pout on her boyfriend's face. "Come on, then." James took Clara's hand and led her through the bookshelves, back to the table where her books and homework still lay from when he'd interrupted her study session.

As they walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room, Clara smiled. She adored that James had come to find her after she'd missed dinner due to studying. He had brought her a plate of food and sat with her, chatting while she ate quickly in case the librarian came and had a heart attack over any potential crumbs. She'd never gotten back to studying, however, as James had grown bored and started kissing her hair and her cheeks, tickling her until she gave in and let him lead her towards the back of the library where there was more privacy. It had never escalated further than kissing; they had only been dating for two months, after all.

"What do you want for Christmas?" James asked.

"You don't have to get me anything, James."

"I want to," he said.

"James -"

"Clara." James stopped near the portrait and turned her to face him. "You are my girlfriend ad I want to get you something for Christmas to show how much I appreciate you. _Especially_ how much I appreciate you putting up with Sirius."

Clara laughed; Sirius had decided that since James was dating Clara, and they had all already been friends for years, Clara was now an honorary Marauder and as such, must be included in all pranks and mischief. He was determined to get her to play a prank, the bigger the better. So far, Sirius had had no luck.

"Well, in that case…" Clara grinned teasingly and James chuckled.

"Are you going to say the password, or not?" a shrill voice demanded. James and Clara turned to see the Fat Lady glaring down at them in her all her frilly pink glory.

"Right, sorry," Clara said awkwardly. "Fortitudo." If anyone wanted to get into Gryffindor Tower it wouldn't be that difficult: the Latin word for 'bravery' was a little obvious in Clara's opinion.

The Fat Lady's portrait swung open and the pair ducked into the warmth of the Common Room. The remaining Marauders were seated around the fire, hunched over something, likely planning mischief. "I will leave you to it," Clara smiled. "They've probably been waiting for you."

"You're not joining us?"

"I don't think we should let Sirius get any more ideas about me and pranking," she joked.

James smiled. "True. I'll see you later?"

"Of course."

James leaned down to press a kiss against Clara's hair and she reached up, gently tugging him down for a quick kiss. They shared a smile before separating to sit with their friends. Clara sat next to Marlene with the other girls who had taken over a small area near the back of the room. Settling into the plush armchair, she sighed happily.

"Hey, smiley," Marlene teased and the others giggled.

Clara blushed lightly. "Shush, you."

"It's not a bad thing," said Mary. "It's nice to see you guys so happy."

"I agree," Lily added. "Loathe as I am to admit anything good about Potter, you two are cute together. You suit each other."

"Thanks, you guys," Clara smiled softly. "Hey, where's Alice?"

"With Frank," Mary giggled. "He came and whisked her off after dinner."

"I bet Frank proposes to her after we leave Hogwarts," Marlene said.

"I hope so," said Clara. "Can you imagine? Their wedding would be so adorable."

"I think he will." Lily leaned forward in her chair to get comfortable. "They've been together since fourth year."

"Speaking of fourth years, Clara, doesn't Marie have a boyfriend now?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Colin Akers."

"Akers?" Mary asked. "Isn't he a sixth year?"

"Yep," said Clara. "He's in Ravenclaw and a bit of a player according to Dorcas. She said he has a new girl every few weeks and they're always younger than him."

"Was it Dorcas who told you about Akers and Marie?" Lily frowned.

"Yeah, she saw them together, kissing, and though she should tell me so I can keep an eye out. Marie _is_ only fourteen after all. I don't think she should be getting involved with someone like Akers. Her first romance should be cute and awkward." The girls laughed at Clara's protectiveness of her sister.

"Does Drew know?" Marlene asked.

"No, and I hope he doesn't find out from anyone else," Clara said. "I haven't told him, I'm waiting for Marie to tell me first. She won't want to tell Drew so she'll probably ask me to." Drew Stone was known to be protective over his sisters: he had taken James aside the day after James and Clara had made it known that they were official and threatened to kill him if he ever hurt Clara. She had been embarrassed but had appreciated the sentiment. James had been scared but Sirius had found it hilarious. Clara had especially appreciated it when James had talked to her afterwards, promising that her brother would never have to follow through on his threat.

She looked across the Common Room, spying James laughing with his friends. His hazel eyes caught her green ones and he smiled at her, blowing her a discreet kiss. Clara sighed happily; she could definitely get used to this.


	9. Pranking

**Sorry for the delay in updates, guys. I haven't been very well for the last couple of weeks but I'm feeling much better now so expect updates to be back to normal. Anyone who reads my Twilight story or my TVD story can expect one at some point this week. Thank you for reading and for the reviews/messages. I hope you enjoy the chapter**

"It's a Hogsmeade weekend this week."

Clara smiled, turning to face James. "I know."

"So… how would you like to have a lovely afternoon with this gorgeous specimen you call boyfriend?"

Clara giggled. "Gorgeous specimen, huh?"

"Mm-hmm," James grinned, leaning forward to rub his nose against hers in an Eskimo kiss. The two were cuddled up in front of the fire in the Common Room, their Transfiguration work long since abandoned on the table. It wasn't due for a week anyway. "So, what do say? Can I take you on a date this Saturday?"

"Hmm…" Clara pretended to think, wriggling away when James tickled her for her teasing. "Okay! Stop!" she laughed. "I promised to go Christmas shopping with the girls on Saturday morning but yes, I would love to go on a date with you… Gorgeous specimen." She joked.

James smiled, "How about we meet for lunch at half past one, then? That way you can spend the morning with the girls and I can steal you away for the afternoon? I need to get some more prank supplies with the lads anyway. I can do that in the morning."

"That works for me," Clara agreed. She leaned her head against James' shoulder, cuddling in close. His arm was slung around her shoulders, his fingers tracing random patterns on her skin. Her breathing slowed, growing slightly heavier as she relaxed. After a few minutes, Clara was sound asleep.

*****Marauder*********************Love***********************Story******

 **James**

James looked down at Clara as he heard her breathing turn into gentle snores. He smiled, she was so cute. He sat there, just watching his gorgeous girl for a few minutes until a creak echoed through the room. James turned, knowing that the Common Room was empty, but also knowing who it was that was behind him.

"You ready, Prongs?"

"Yep."

James slowly eased up off the sofa, gently laying Clara down and making sure she was comfortable. He made sure he had his Invisibility Cloak in his bag, along with the dungbombs and colour-change shampoo.

"I can't believe she still won't pull a prank with us," pouted Sirius.

James and Remus laughed, the latter saying, "Can you blame her? Do you know how many detentions you and Prongs have had between you?"

"Since September or since First Year?" asked the grey-eyed boy.

"Since First Year, the two of you have hand over five hundred detentions between you," Remus told them. "I kept count."

The dark haired friends just laughed and high-fived. The four Marauders carefully sneaked out of the common room, Remus using the Map to check that Filch wasn't in the next corridor. Eventually, they made it down to the dungeons and stood in front of the stone wall that hid the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. James tossed the Cloak over them as Remus checked the Map for the password and huffed.

"I hate their passwords," he grumbled.

"What is it this time?" Sirius asked.

Remus scowled. " _Pura Semper_." The stone wall opened to reveal a long, dimly lit room.

"What does that mean?" asked Peter.

Sirius scoffed, "It means 'Always Pure'."

James shook his head. "Yeah, because that's so original of them."

Peter snorted but Sirius nudged him, "Shut up, Wormtail!" Peter opened his mouth but Sirius just nudged him again, pointing to the area by the fire. James looked over, seeing a group of Slytherins still sat around, including Snape who was sitting in an armchair, perfectly straight like he had a stick up his arse. He was scribbling in a book, _probably Dark curses or some shite_ , James thought. Lucius Malfoy was also still up, lounging across the biggest sofa with his head in Narcissa Black's lap while she played with his hair. _Gross_.

Slowly, the four boys crept across the Common Room, heading for the boys' dorm. Once they reached the door to the Sixth Year dorm, Remus checked the Map. "All clear." Not concerning himself with the whereabouts of the rest of the Slytherin Sixth Year boys, James whipped the Cloak off and opened the door. They entered the room, Sirius scowling at all the green.

"Urgh, how can they live like this?"

"Not the time, Padfoot," James told him. "You need to swap the soap."

The Marauders quickly dashed about the room. James quickly swapped the shampoo bottles to the colour-changing shampoo, transfiguring the new bottles to look like the originals then placed dungbombs in the pockets of all the robes. Meeting the others at the door, they quickly ducked under the Cloak to sneak back out of the Common Room.

Just before the stone wall closed behind them, Sirius couldn't resist taking a shot at Snape. He flicked his wand, sending a silent spell through the Common Room.

"What was that?" James asked.

"You'll see tomorrow, Prongs," Sirius winked.

*****Marauder*********************Love***********************Story******

When Clara woke up on the sofa in the Gryffindor Common Room the next morning, she wasn't surprised to see James snuggled up next to her. She was, however, surprised to see the rest of the Marauders passed out on the chairs around them.

"What..?"

"We went pranking last night." Sirius was just waking up, his hair flopping in his face as he sat up from his awkward position in the armchair.

She laughed, "Why didn't you guys just go back upstairs?"

He shrugged. "Prongs wanted to stay with you, I guess he felt bad he couldn't take you up to the girls' dorm. We were sat up talking for a bit, guess we just fell asleep."

Clara nodded, looking to James. She smiled softly, brushing some hair out his eyes and straightening his glasses. James hated falling asleep with his glasses on, though he did it quite often when he'd fall asleep doing homework or planning pranks and quidditch plays.

"You make him happy, you know?"

"Hmm?" Clara looked at Sirius who was watching her carefully.

"He's happy with you," he repeated. "He always used to obsess over Evans, but he was never happy. I know she's your friend but she was always putting him down and insulting him. And she says _he's_ the bully," Sirius scoffed.

"You're right, Lily is my friend," Clara told him. "But you're also right in that she doesn't treat him fairly. I've already had one fight with her about it this year."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius said. "Thank you for standing up for him, by the way."

"It's fine."

"Anyway, as I was saying, Prongs is happy with you and I don't want to see him as upset as Evans made him ever again. So please don't hurt him. Or, friends or not, you'll be dealing with me."

Clara nodded. "I think that's fair enough. But you should know, I don't want to hurt him, ever."

"You love him."

"What?" Clara's green eyes snapped up to meet Sirius' silvery-grey ones.

"You love him."

She looked back down at the sleeping James, smiling gently. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I do."


	10. Mary

"Merlin!" Marlene huffed, sitting next to Clara at the Gryffindor Table for lunch. "We're not even taking our NEWTs until next year but, I swear, McGonagall is trying to kill us with all this homework.

"I know," Clara sighed. "Not to mention the Potions essay, the Defence essay and the chart for Astronomy."

"I don't know why we took astronomy," said Marlene.

"Because we didn't want to sit in the Divination Tower and suffocate to death with all the incense?" Marlene snorted as Lily sat opposite them.

"Well," the redhead said. "You could have taken Arithmancy."

"No thanks," Clara told her. "All those numbers make my brain hurt."

Lily rolled her eyes, scooping some salad onto her plate. "It's not that bad."

"What's not that bad?" James asked, plopping down on Clara's other side and kissing her cheek.

She smiled, "Lily's trying to convince us that we should have taken Arithmancy instead of Astronomy."

"Ew." James scrunched his nose up, adorably in Clara's opinion. "I much prefer Divination."

"Why?" Clara scoffed. "It's awfully hot in that room and it smells ridiculously sweet, so sweet it makes me feel ill."

"Plus, Professor Sinderby is mental," Marlene added.

James agreed. "But it's easy to get an O in Divination."

"Agreed!" piped in Sirius, as he and the other Marauders joined the group. "Sinderby falls for any prediction that sounds even remotely dramatic, especially if it involves a death."

Lily frowned at the idea of lying to get a high grade in a class. "You won't be able to do that for your NEWT exam next year. I'm sure the examiner won't be as gullible as Sinderby."

" _Anyway_ ," Clara interrupted. "Has anyone seen Mary?"

"Not since Transfiguration," said Marlene. "She said she was going back to the Common Room to get something but she hasn't come down yet."

"Maybe she's gone to her next class early?" suggested Remus.

"No," said Clara. "She's got Charms next, and we're all in that class except for Peter. She'd meet us here, I'm sure."

"Well, I wonder where she's got to," said Lily.

"Has she got a boyfriend?" asked Sirius. "Maybe she's met up with him."

"No, she hasn't got a boyfriend," Marlene told. "At least, not that she's told us."

"It's not like Mary to miss lunch, especially not when there's jam tarts."

"I know," said Clara. "Maybe she'll meet us in Charms, after all."

She didn't. She also didn't turn up to Potions, or dinner.

The group was sitting around the fire in the Common Room; Clara cuddled with James on the sofa while the others did homework or, in the case of Sirius, Peter and Marlene, played exploding snap. James was playing with Clara's hair, having tugged it out of its bun. She hummed happily, relaxing against him.

The peace was disturbed by a fifth year prefect, Johnny Danes, bursting through the portrait.

"Evans! Stone! McKinnon!" he yelled, sprinting over to them. "Come quickly! McGonagall wants you, in the Hospital Wing."

"What?" Clara sat up. "Why? What's happened?"

"Not quite sure," Danes puffed. "I think it's something to do with your friend, MacDonald?"

"Mary?" Lily gasped.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Marlene dropped her playing cards and stood. "We're not going to find out sitting here!"

The three girls raced down to the Hospital Wing, the Marauders trailing after them. Professor McGonagall was waiting for them outside the closed doors to the Hospital.

"I'm afraid you gentlemen shall have to outside."

"Why, Professor?" Remus asked. "What's happened?"

"I'm afraid that Miss MacDonald has been attacked," McGonagall said solemnly, eliciting gasps from the students. She led the three girls into the Hospital, leaving the Marauders to wait in the corridor.

Clara felt her stomach fluttering nervously at the thought of what might have happened to Mary. Nothing could have prepared her for the truth.

The Hospital Wing was empty except for one bed in the far corner. Madam Pomfrey pulled back the curtains and Clara's heart dropped into her stomach. Mary lay on the bed, though she would have been unrecognisable to someone who had not seen her nearly every day for the last six years. Her face was swollen, dark bruises covering nearly every patch of Mary's usually tanned skin. Her left eye was swollen shut and her lips were bloody and ripped as though she had bitten them very harshly. Mary's right arm was in a sling, broken from the look of the Skelegrow on the bedside table. Clara couldn't see Mary's legs due to the covers, but from the looks of the rest of her friend, she wasn't sure she wanted to.

"Merlin," she breathed. Tears rolled down her cheeks at the sight of one of her dearest friends in such a terrible condition.

"What happened to her?" Lily cried. Clara turned to face the redhead and, seeing Lily's own tears, pulled her into a tight hug. Marlene hadn't spoken a word, just staring at Mary, her face pale.

"She was found by a couple of third year Hufflepuffs who were running late for a detention with Professor Slughorn."

"She was in the dungeons?" Clara asked.

"Yes," McGonagall answered. "She was… well…" The stricken Professor looked to Madam looked to Pomfrey, who cleared her throat.

"She was badly beaten. Whoever did this used a number of dark hexes and curses, including… the Cruciatus Curse, I'm afraid."

Lily burst into sobs, burying her face against Clara's shoulder.

"But who would do this?" Clara asked. "We're in _Hogwarts_."

"Does Professor Dumbledore know about this?" Marlene finally spoke.

"He does," McGonagall said. "He has been at the Ministry all day on business but he has undoubtedly received my owl by now."

Clara nodded, unable to speak any further. She tugged Marlene into the hug she was still in with Lily.

Eventually, Madam Pomfrey asked them to leave as Mary needed her rest. She wouldn't be awake for some time, as Madam Pomfrey was keeping her on sleeping potions until the worst had healed and they could get a Healer in from St. Mungo's to check for any damage left by the Cruciatus. The girls trailed out into the corridor, only to find James, Remus, Peter and Sirius sitting in the corridor.

Peter was asleep with his head back against the wall and his mouth open. Remus was reading. Sirius was lounging against the wall, fiddling with an unlit cigarette. James was sitting cross-legged, his head on his chest and his eyes closed, though he wasn't asleep.

"James…"

His head snapped up at Clara's voice and he stood quickly, rushing over to her.

"What happened?" he asked, as Sirius and Remus stood.

"M-Mary was found in the dungeons," Clara said tearfully. "She was attacked and they t-tortured her."

"Tortured her?" Sirius asked.

"The Cruciatus Curse," Lily muttered.

Sirius cursed, crushing the cigarette in his fist. Remus let out a heavy breath, running a hand through his hair in worry.

"Where's Dumbledore?" Sirius snapped. "He should be able to find out who did this!"

"He's been at the Ministry all day," Clara told him, leaning against James who had his arms around her. "McGonagall owled him."

"He's been away?" Remus frowned.

"If Dumbledore's been away, I bet you anything it was Slytherins!" Sirius was getting more and more wound up, pacing agitatedly.

"I assure you, Mr. Black, that I will do all I can do find those responsible for Miss. MacDonald's attack."

They all, except Peter who was still asleep, turned to see Professor Dumbledore striding towards them, his starry blue robes flaring out behind him as he walked. The Headmaster's usually kind blue eyes were hard behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Sir, I didn't mean-"

"I know what you meant, Mr. Black," said Dumbledore. "But we mustn't throw accusations without evidence."

"Mary was found in the dungeons!" Sirius scoffed. "Isn't that proof enough that it was a Slytherin?"

"No, Mr. Black, it is not." Dumbledore peered over the top of his spectacles. "Now, it is late, so I suggest that you all return to you dormitories. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will let you visit Miss. MacDonald in the morning." He moved towards the doors to the Hospital Wing but paused before entering, "I trust one of you gentlemen will assist Mr. Pettigrew?" He disappeared through the dark wooden doors.

"Come on," said Remus. "We're not doing Mary any good standing out here. Let's get to bed and I'm sure they'll have more information in the morning. Sirius, will you help me with him?" Remus gestured towards Peter and the two boys hoisted the snoring boy up off the floor. Shaking him awake would do no good; Peter had a way of falling asleep anywhere and he was extremely to wake up.

"Couldn't we just levitate him?" Sirius asked.

"Not with your terrible aim," Remus joked.

Clara smiled a little. Lily and Marlene slowly followed the boys, their arms linked as Lily helped Marlene to stay steady on her feet.

"Come on, love," James said. He took Clara's hand and they followed the others up to Gryffindor Tower.

Once in the Common Room, Remus and Sirius hauled Peter up to boys' dorm. James turned to Clara, "Will you girls be alright tonight?"

Clara nodded. "Yeah," she said. "We'll be fine. Though, I am a bit worried about Mary; she's very pale and she hasn't spoken much."

"She's just shocked," James told her. "She might feel better after a good night's sleep."

"I'm not sure any of us will get a good night's sleep tonight," she murmured. "Do you think this could have been Slytherins?"

"Possibly," he said, thinking. "Some of the Slytherins, especially the upper years, seem to be very interested in _his_ movements."

"You mean _Voldemort_?" Clara gasped and James nodded.

"The lads and I caught some of the sixth and seventh years looking awfully suspicious on the last Hogsmeade trip."

"What do you mean, 'suspicious'?"

"I'm not sure, exactly, but they were having some sort of gathering by the Shrieking Shack and there were a few there that graduated last year as well."

"Anyone we know?"

"Evan Rosier was there, do you remember him?"

"He was the Slytherin Quidditch Captain last year, wasn't he?" Clara frowned, trying to remember.

"Yeah," James said. "He also hexed a second year Hufflepuff so badly the boy got sent to St. Mungo's."

"Merlin," Clara's eyebrows raised. "Do you think you should tell Dumbledore?"

"Not yet. It's not exactly illegal to meet former students on Hogsmeade weekends."

"Well, at any rate, we'd better get to bed. I want to visit Mary before breakfast."

"You're right," James agreed. Clara hugged James tightly and he pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth before they went to their separate dormitories.

When Clara got upstairs, Marlene was already in bed and Lily was just coming out of the bathroom. "How is she?" she asked, gesturing to Marlene.

"Asleep," Lily sighed. "I had to cast a Calming Charm on her, but it won't as good as a Calming Draught or even a sleeping potion."

"As long as she gets _some_ rest, at least." Clara quickly changed into her pyjamas and washed her face in the bathroom. She hadn't bothered to tie her hair back after James had undone it earlier that evening, so she just ran a brush through it and climbed into bed.

"Clara?" Lily asked from her own bed.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Mary will be alright?"

Clara leaned up on her elbow. "Of course she will. Madam Pomfrey said there's a Healer from St. Mungo's coming tomorrow, remember? And Dumbledore will catch the bastards who did this to her and, hopefully, expel them. So they can't hurt any more students."

"I hope so." Lily bit her lip and pulled her covers up. "Night."

"Night Lily." Clara lay back down, pausing only to move Zemi off her pillow. The cat had sneaked onto it as soon as Clara had lifted her head. Putting Zemi comfortably at the end of her four-poster bed, Clara snuggled into her covers and hoped that she hadn't lied to Lily and that everything really would work out for Mary.


	11. Quidditch

Clara was up early the next morning to visit Mary in the Hospital Wing. She didn't know what she had expected but she had thought that Mary might show some improvement. Unfortunately, Mary's usually tan skin was pale, her unconscious body racked with shivers.

"It's a side effect of the Cruciatus," Madam Pomfrey told her. "It should wear off in a few days."

The Healer from St. Mungo's was due to arrive after breakfast so the Matron requested that Mary be left in peace until then. Clara left the Hospital Wing, bumping into Marlene and Alice outside the doors.

"Hey," Clara greeted. "Madam Pomfrey won't let us in until later. The Healer's coming after breakfast."

Alice frowned sadly. "Oh. I wanted to see her before breakfast."

"We all did, Ali," Marlene said, putting an arm around her. "Come on, we'll get something to eat and we'll come back at lunch."

"Okay," Alice sighed.

"Where's Lily?" asked Clara as they walked.

"Still asleep, I think," Marlene answered. "I heard her tossing and turning last night."

"Yeah, I don't think she slept at all," agreed Alice.

"I don't blame her. She's the closest to Mary out of us all. They met first and they're both…" Clara shut up when they rounded the corner, spotting a group of Slytherins.

They were all sixth and seventh years; most of them were known for being "Death Eater wannabe's", as Sirius called them. The girls walked passed them without a word until Mulciber spoke up.

"How's your mudblood friend?"

Marlene scowled, reaching for her wand, but Clara gripped her wrist to stop her. "Mar, don't. They're not worth it."

"That's right! Run away, little bloodtraitors!"

Marlene ripped her arm out of Clara's grasp and spun around. " _Furnunculus_!"

Bright red boils broke out across Mulciber's face, some bursting instantly and painfully, leaking pus down his cheeks. His resulting high-pitched cry had a few onlookers laughing, though they quickly quietened when they saw his glare.

"You'll pay for that, you bloodtraitor bitch!"

"Is that really the only insult you've got, Mulciber?" a voice said from behind the girls. Clara glanced around to see Remus Lupin, his own wand raised at the Slytherins. "Come on, girls, let's get some breakfast. Don't want to be late to Defence."

Alice immediately went into the Great Hall, but it took a moment for Clara to drag Marlene away from the fight.

"What was that about?" Remus asked as they sat down. The other Marauders were already there and James slung an arm around Clara, kissing her temple sweetly.

"He was asking about Mary," Alice explained.

"He called her a mudblood," added Clara.

Marlene huffed into her bacon. "You should've let me hex him again!"

"Again?" Sirius asked.

"Furnunculus," she smirked.

"Nice!" Sirius snickered, high-fiving the blonde.

"Miss McKinnon?"

The group looked up to see Professor McGonagall, wearing a stern expression. "Yes, Professor?"

"I'm afraid it has come to my attention that you have been using magic in the halls - against another student, no less."

"Professor-"

"Miss McKinnon, please join me in my office tonight for detention. I expect you to arrive no later than eight o' clock."

"Yes, Professor."

The Head of Gryffindor House walked away towards the staff table, though Clara could have sworn the old woman was smiling slightly. Marlene groaned, "I hate detention with McGonagall!"

"It's better than detention with Filch," James pointed out.

"Well, you'd know all about that," Clara teased her boyfriend. He just grinned, poking her side to make her giggle.

"So where's Ginger Snap?" Sirius asked, stuffing nearly a whole fried egg in his mouth.

"Ew, Sirius!" Clara cringed. "That's disgusting."

"'At? I jot etting!" At Remus' raised eyebrow, Sirius swallowed his food and repeated, "What? I'm just eating."

"You do eat like a pig, mate," Remus told him.

"More like a _dog_ , really," James joked.

Clara smiled a little at their teasing. "Lily's still in bed. She didn't sleep well at all last night. None of us did, really."

Sirius nodded, his eyes growing dark with anger. "Those bastards will pay for what they did to Mary."

"They will," said Alice. "But right now, there's nothing we can do apart from support Mary. So, we're going to go to class and then visit her at lunch. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

*****Marauder*********************Love***********************Story******

Lily had joined them for classes, having slept through her alarm. However, their plans to visit Mary at lunch were derailed, yet again, by Madam Pomfrey.

"I'm afraid Healer Jenkins determined that Miss MacDonald should be referred to St. Mungo's for the time being. She has not yet woken up, but the tremors have gotten worse," she explained. "The Cruciatus Curse is not to be taken lightly and its effects can last from a few hours to a few days or even weeks, maybe longer."

"Can we visit?" Lily asked.

"Not for a while, dear, I'm sorry," the Matron told them.

"What about her parents?" Clara asked. "They're muggles; will they be allowed to see her?"

"Yes, I believe so," Pomfrey nodded.

Clara smiled, relieved that Mary wouldn't be alone, at least.

"Now, off you go! You mustn't loiter any longer, I'm sure you all have somewhere to be!" she shooed them away and went back into her office.

"I can't believe this," Marlene huffed, her face flushing in anger. "They expect us to just sit through classes like everything's fine when our best friend was _attacked_?"

"Well, to be fair, there isn't much else we can do, Mar," Lily soothed.

"What about the bastards who did this?" the distraught blonde continued. "How has nothing been done yet? Are they just going to get off scot free? They could do it again!"

"I assure you, Miss McKinnon, that we are doing all we can to find the culprits behind Miss MacDonald's attack."

The group turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing calmly in the corridor.

"Headmaster –" James started, but the elder man just held up a hand.

"I suggest that you all take the rest of the day away from classes. Get your frustrations out today and return to your lessons tomorrow," said Dumbledore.

Despite Lily's protests about missing class, the Headmaster insisted that they take time to recover from the shock of Mary's attack.

"Thank you, sir," Clara murmured as they passed Professor Dumbledore. The man himself just nodded with a solemn look in his usually twinkling blue eyes.

"So, what do we do now?" Alice asked.

"Well," said Sirius. "He did say to get our frustrations out. Anyone for a game of Quidditch?"

*****Marauder*********************Love***********************Story******

"HEADS UP!"

Clara ducked the oncoming bludger and tossed a scowl over her shoulder. "You're supposed to keep them _away_ from our team, Black!"

"Sorry!" Sirius called back. "Quick little buggers, they are!"

Clara ignored him, turning back to the game in front of her. It had been three weeks since Mary's attack, though the Healers had determined that she could return to Hogwarts any day now. It was now the first Quidditch game of the season: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Clara was glad that her brother was such a Quidditch nut; his intense training schedule had kept her, James, Sirius and Marlene distracted from thinking about Mary's attacker.

Clara caught the quaffle as Marlene, another chaser on the team, threw it to the left. Swerving around Slytherin chaser Edward Pucey as he grabbed for the quaffle, Clara reared back and threw the red ball hard. There was a loud cheer from the stands as the quaffle went through the middle hoop.

"Yes!" Clara grinned.

"That's my girl!" James shouted, high-fiving her as he flew passed.

" _CLARA STONE OF GRYFFINDOR SCORES HER FOURTH GOAL OF THE GAME! THE SCORE IS 180 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR, 110 POINTS TO SLYTHERIN!"_ There were more cheers as the commentator, fifth year Hufflepuff, Jackson Cull, screamed through the megaphone.

The quaffle was now in the hands of the Slytherin chasers and Clara flew in formation with Marlene and their new chaser Mick Jones. Drew looked ecstatic from his position by the Gryffindor goalposts. Their new beater, Felicity Jensen, flew in front of Clara, whacking a bludger away with a fierce grin.

"Thanks, Liss!" Clara shouted.

"No problemo!" Liss called back.

Mick ducked under Mulciber, swiping the quaffle as he went. Speeding to other end of the pitch, he was about to pass to Marlene when a bludger came speeding out of nowhere and smacked square into his back. Mick fell forwards off his broom, dropping the quaffle. If Marlene and Clara hadn't reacted fast enough to catch Mick between them, the fourth year would have hit the ground hard. Madam Hooch blew her whistle sharply as loud booing came from the Gryffindor stands.

" _MADAM HOOCH HAS CALLED FOR A TIME OUT AFTER THAT DISGUSTING DISPLAY FROM SLYTHERIN BEATER, RABASTAN LESTRANGE! DIRTY, CHEATING BAS-"_

" _MR. CULL!"_

" _RIGHT, SORRY PROFESSOR!"_

The Gryffindor team landed, quickly surrounding their three chasers.

"You okay, Jones?" Drew asked.

Mick, who couldn't speak, just shook his head, his breath wheezing out in little puffs.

"He needs to go to the Hospital Wing," Clara said. "He can't breathe!"

"Madam Pomfrey is on her way down from the stands now," said Hooch. "She'll take care of him."

As Madam Pomfrey levitated Mick to the Hospital Wing, Drew turned to his team.

"What are we gonna do now?" Sirius asked. "We're down one chaser."

"We keep playing," Drew decided. "Potter, you have _got_ to catch that snitch, and fast!"

James nodded. "I'm trying, but Black keeps knocking into me." Regulus Black was the Slytherin seeker.

"Just knock him off his broom, mate," Sirius smirked.

"No worse than what they did to Mick," growled Liss.

"We can't stoop to their level," Clara scolded. "James, just catch the snitch so we can end this. Sirius and Liss - keep whacking away the bludgers. Marlene and I will be fine, we work well together. We can finish this one game without Mick."

"Well, anyone would think you were the captain," Drew joked.

"I did learn from the best," she winked.

The whistle blew and Drew clapped James, the person nearest to him, on the shoulder. "Right, you lot, back in the air. Let's win this, yeah?"

The team cheered, flying out in formation, determined to win.

" _AND WE'RE BACK, FOLKS! IT LOOKS LIKE THE LIONS ARE DETERMINED TO WIN, EVEN WITH ONE PLAYER DOWN! DUE TO THE GROSS MISCONDUCT FROM THE SLIMY-"_

" _CULL!"_

" _SORRY, PROFESSOR! ANYWAY, THE THIRD FOUL OF THE GAME IS IN FAVOUR OF GRYFFINDOR! AND, STONE IS LINING UP – SHE SHOOTS – SHE SCORES! 190 TO GRYFFINDOR!"_

Clara grinned, swooping back around to catch up with the Slytherin chaser who now had the quaffle.

" _IT LOOKS LIKE POTTER HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH! HE'S DIVING! BLACK IS FOLLOWING CLOSE BEHIND. COME ON, POTTER!"_

" _MR. CULL! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IMPARTIAL!"_

" _POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!"_

Clara cheered, waving her hands in the air. Flying down to meet the rest of the team, she landed next to James and threw her arms around him.

"We won!" she yelled over the noise of the crowd. "We did it!"

James leaned down and kissed her soundly, wrapping his arms around her waist. She could feel the fluttering wings of the snitch still grasped in James' gloved hand. Pulling back, James rested his head briefly against Clara's and murmured, "I love you."

Clara didn't think her smile could get any wider. "I love you too." James kissed her again before Sirius burrowed in between them, slinging an arm about each of their shoulders.

"Party in the common room!"


End file.
